Final Destinations
by DivinitySickness
Summary: The continuation to 'Crimson Kiss'...will Crimson achieve his ultimate goal? Finished, at last. Re-edit up.
1. Resurrection

FINAL DESTINATIONS By Final Fantasy GX 

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cyberchase.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** This is the third and final story of the "Crimson Blade" saga. First of all came "Raven Heart", by DarkHououmon, then "Crimson Kiss", by Mister Pie. I would suggest reading those stories first. Both of these people did an excellent job, and it is an honour to attempt to finish off the story nicely!

I hope you enjoy Final Destinations.

**Re-edit:** I would like to welcome all to the re-edit – it's much easier to understand, and updated so no one gets confused. (Such as the Scythe issue, and the end of Chapter 11.) You'll notice some changes have been made to some dialogue, among other things. Been working on this for a while (Heh, a "while") so… hope it's much better than last time.

Oh, and I'm sorry to people who have me on their Author Alert lists – you'll have to put up with fifteen submissions in your inbox (not all at once, of course).

Chapter 1: Resurrection

A storm was coming.

Like a sad ghost of something pure and beautiful, the abandoned church stood amongst the faded grass, the iron cross mounted on the highest point of its roof stark against the stormy sky.

As the door of the church swung back and forth in the strong breeze, creaking ominously, thunder rolled and a single fork of lightning streaked through the sky with a loud CRRACK!

Inside the church was no better than outside. The walls, once pristine, were marked and mildewed. The stained glass windows were shattered and fragmented, the paintings torn and ripped. The clean, sandy-orange carpet was stained with dirt and – could it be? – blood. All of the seats were splintered and broken, their remains scattered about the room.

The organ, whose pipes had once reached up as if to touch the sky, was cracked; a strange hole in the ground lay in front of it, surrounded by broken pipes and debris.

At the front, where the altar would normally stand but was no longer there, a battered coffin sat, its once gleaming wood glowing dully in the little light that shone down upon it.

And seated upon the closed lid was a figure out of the worst of nightmares, made of the very essence of fear. A figure who would make the most fearless tremble in their boots.

A mismatch of things good and evil, Crimson Blade was a creature that never should have existed. Once he/she had been without fear. Once he/she had been confident of himself. Once, he/she had had the chance to kill his/her enemy once and for all.

(Crimson Blade is actually male in gender, considering most of his counterparts are male.)

Now he was a broken spirit. Half-insane, driven that way by his brief but humiliating defeat by an eleven-year-old boy, and quick to anger, he murdered anyone who happened to wander into the church, whether for shelter or merely curiosity, tossing their gnawed bones outside to bleach – and to ward off anyone else who dared to enter.

His seemingly perfect revenge had been interrupted by that event which tortured him consistently. And now… now had come the time when he would once more unleash himself upon the world.

How he had survived that last defeat, he did not know. There had been pain, so terrible he just wanted it to end, right then. After that his world had faded to black, but before he knew it he could feel the weight to the pipes bearing down on his crushed body again, and there was no pain, only a weird dullness and a strange feeling of discomfort. He had shoved upwards through the rubble, seeing the pipes go flying with great satisfaction, and risen once more.

He had been given one more chance. The fates were with him now. Crimson knew his mission – to seek out and destroy the boy who had ruined his every instant of life. Every single day he imagined gruesome deaths to the one whom he loathed with the deepest of hate. Every day he plotted and planned in his shelter from the world. Now he was ready.

Heaving a sigh that seemed to come from deep within, the insane creature glanced around at the place where he had hidden for so long. Slowly standing up and moving forwards, he sauntered down the flight of stairs with a slight limp, the twitch in his face the only flaw in his expression.

Upon exiting the building, he plucked from his front pocket a box of matches, which he had discovered on one of the victims he had killed so recklessly; drawing a match out and flicking it alight, Crimson tossed it to the roof of the church, and watched the entire thing burn to the ground in a sea of golden-yellow flames, that same blank expression still smoothly set on his twisted face.

Then he turned his back to the blackened ruins and concentrated with all his will, his destination clearly pictured in his mind. And with a whisper, he disappeared like smoke in the wind.


	2. Memories

FINAL DESTINATIONS By Final Fantasy GX 

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** The previous chapter was very short, I know, but I promise this one will be longer.

Re-edit Notes: Okay, some minor dialogue changes here. Plus, I fixed the ending…

Eh, I know this is kind of off the subject, but I've noticed that fanfiction writing is a lot like art:

When you draw or write it a first time, the work seems okay. But, if you take another look a few months later, the work seems out of proportion or sounds very childish. That's what it's like with this; at least the early chapters, anyway. Just a little observation…

Chapter 2: Painful Memories

On Earth, however, the weather was a complete opposite – beautiful and sunny with a bright blue sky. At least, where the Cybersquad lived, anyway. Everyone was enjoying the good conditions while they lasted.

Everyone except Matt.

He was sitting in his room with the sunlight streaming in through his window, watching all the other kids on the street laugh and play without a care in the world. How he wished he was like them; he had been once, but he would never truly be again. The eleven-year-old, young as he was, had too much to think and be concerned about – including his friends.

Matt kept worrying about Crimson Blade – the over-confident, evil re-incarnate he had crossed paths with not too long ago. Or at least, it wasn't that long to his mind. That was how Jackie had gotten so sick; that was how Inez and Digit had also been hurt. Thankfully, all of them were fully recovered – Inez's hair had even grown back to the same length.

The reason he was worried was that he wasn't quite sure the creature was actually dead – the only thing he had done was spit on his mortal (or immortal) enemy. But then again… he _had_ seen him shudder, and go limp; and after all, those pipes were certainly too heavy to have not killed the foul thing completely. But still, a nagging feeling at the back of his mind gnawed at his soul, warning him.

Giving a wistful sigh, still staring out the window at the children outside, he heard the doorbell ring and slowly descended the stairs to see who it was.

It was Inez. As he beckoned for her to come in, the Hispanic girl looked at him strangely. "Matt… are you all right? You look terrible."

Catching a glimpse of his reflection in the hallway mirror, Matt saw that, indeed, he didn't look too good. There were dark circles under his eyes, his hair was rumpled and his clothes were creased – he'd slept in them two nights in a row. Turning back to the bespectacled girl, he sighed and shook his head. "Come on up to my room where we can talk," he said, and doggedly went up the stairs into his room, closing the door behind them.

Once they were settled, Inez began to speak.

"Matt, what's going on? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm sorry… it's just… I've been thinking…" He stopped, upon a thought that suddenly came to him. "Where's Jax?"

"She had to go out today with her mom, I think. Don't hold me to that, though."

"Ah." Another long pause.

"Matt, just say what you want to say. Get it off your chest."

"All right, _Nezzie_," he teased her, and then grew serious.

"Thankyou, _Matthew_," she quipped back.

"I've been thinking about Crimson Blade…"

"Oh… him."

"Yeah… somehow I have the feeling he's not dead. I don't know how, or why, but… I just have this feeling. I still have nightmares about him sometimes. And they seem so real…"

"Well, you may be right, Matt."

"What!" He was joking around again. "I'm right for a change? Did Jax pay you to say that?"

"No, Matt." She rolled her eyes. "Trust your instincts. What does he do or say to you in the nightmares?"

A shadow passed over the boy's face. "He says to me… that he's going to find me… and I can't stop him…" He trailed off, staring off into the distance, recalling.

"Stop him from what?"

"From murdering all of us…" Matt whispered. "And he looks so real… when he kills me, all of us… it _feels_ so real…"

"Nightmares can seem real, Matt… but you look really shaken up by the whole thing. More than you should be."

"I know." He looked sorrowfully at his friend. "It's been a long time since what happened, but I can't stop remembering what he did to you, and Jax, and Didge. And most of all, I'm scared of him coming back…"

"Well, all you can do now is keep your eyes peeled for anything. Just in case he somehow survived…"

"Please… don't remind me."

Inez had just opened her mouth to say something else when Motherboard's face appeared in one of Matt's posters.

"Inez – Matt," the supercomputer said. "Hacker is attacking - " There was static for a moment, and a long pause. " - Pompadoria - " Another pause. "Jackie and Digit – are already there."

"Portal us in, Mother-B!" the pair said in unison, and were sucked up by the pink, sparkly portal that appeared in front of them.

---

Next thing Inez and Matt knew, they had landed in a clearing in the Forever Forest. Jackie and Digit were already standing there, waiting for their companions.

"Hi Inez! Hi Matt – whoa! What happened to you?" Jackie narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of Matt's dishevelled condition. "Tornado? Hurricane, maybe?"

"Shh, Jax. I'll explain later," Inez said quietly to her friend, as the redhead's face darkened.

"So, what are we supposed to be doing?" asked Matt in a tense voice, carefully not looking at Jackie. "Motherboard told us Hacker was here."

Digit scratched his head. "Well, that's the funny thing, ya know. Jackie and me have had a look around, and we haven't seen any sign of him!"

"That's weird," said Matt bitterly. "He usually leaves his mark."

Digit raised his eyebrows at the boy's sullen tone and looked over at Inez questioningly. She shook her head and mouthed the words, "Tell you later."

"Well," she said out loud, scanning the area. "I suppose we'd better start looking."

After about an hour of searching, the four of them were frustrated and tired. They had now come to a conclusion - Hacker was definitely _not _at Pompadoria. Slightly peeved, Jackie punched the buttons on her Sqwak Pad and explained what had happened to a puzzled Dr Marbles.

"But… that wasn't what she said," he said hesitantly. "And the portal was programmed to go to Sensible Flats, where he really was. You need to get over there, now!"

Jackie looked over her shoulder at the others and bit her lip. "If you guys are thinking what I'm thinking…"

"Yep. Someone tampered with the transmission and the portal," Matt finished.

"And it couldn't be Hacker, or Buzz and Delete, because they're busy at Sensible Flats…"

"So… who could it be…?" Digit asked, slightly nervously; the Cybersquad glanced at each other warily.

Jackie turned back to the Squak Pad. "Dr Marbles - " She stopped speaking abruptly as she saw what had happened: there was no signal, only white-black static and a loud buzzing noise.

"Jackie?" Inez asked, concerned. "What happened to the Squak Pad?"

"I – don't know," the African-American responded worriedly, stabbing some of the buttons frantically. "It was fine before, and I put in the numbers right and everything…"

"Hey – look!" Matt said, pointing to their left, where a circle of pink-purple light hovered in midair, awaiting them. "A portal! Motherboard must have dropped out, so Dr Marbles just sent us a portal instead of trying to reach us."

"Matt… I don't know. He didn't warn us." Jackie folded her arms stubbornly.

"That's because he didn't get to."

"Usually, he does!"

"What else are we supposed to do, then?"

"Well, while you guys argue, Didge and I will just go to Sensible Flats now…" Inez interrupted loudly. The fighting pair looked sheepish.

"Sorry…" Matt muttered softly, glancing away and sighing heavily. Jackie said nothing, only rolled her eyes and grinned at Inez apologetically.

"Thankyou. Now, let's get going before Hacker does something serious," Inez replied, and ran to jump into the swirling, sparkling portal. The others followed soon after.

They landed in Control Central – the wrong location – a few seconds later, only to find the familiar building dark, empty, and silent as a graveyard.


	3. Trapped

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase.

**Genre:** Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense/Angst… A bit of everything, really.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Well… Chapter Three, finally. Sorry to keep you all waiting; I had a little trouble with the plot and things like that. I hope it's all right. It's going okay at the moment.

**Re-edit Notes:** Ugh. –shudders- This was a chapter absolutely full of mistakes, bad grammar & punctuation, too-simple terms and really bad wording. Hopefully, the upgrade I've done has made it somewhat readable.

Again, there are a few dialogue changes, as well as a minor plot change: nothing that upsets the story, btw.

Chapter 3: Trapped

"What are you doing?" A terrified voice echoed in the silent room. "Wait – don't do that – don't – what are you – what are you doing - " _Thud. Clatter._

"Hey - "

"Silence, foolish mortal."

"But - "

"I said, BE QUIET!"

The room was pitch-dark, but the fading light filtering in through the doorway faintly lit two figures moving about. One was shadowy at the edges, a little blurred, as if it wasn't quite there but seemed opaque enough to be alive. The other was solid and real, and as the thud also echoed through the room, it fell backwards to the floor – the blurred figure had shoved it hard in the chest.

Dr Marbles panted in fright as he stared, unbelieving, at the figure standing over him. He dared not say anything, for fear that this strange, dangerous creature would seriously injure him – the fact that the ones he truly wanted were coming, unknowing, into this carefully woven trap, was the only reason preventing this seemingly insane _thing_ from hurting the doctor.

As voices began to be heard from not far off, Crimson paused in his poisonous glare of the terrified cyborg to glance up, towards the doorway. Hissing in pleasure between his teeth, he backed away from Dr Marbles and melted into the shadows, his position marked only by two flaming, bright crimson eyes…

Watching from his spot, Crimson saw a silhouette step into the doorway, then into the room, followed by three others. Chuckling silently to himself at the obvious stupidity of these children and the bird, he waved his hand at the door, which shut with a loud BANG that made the kids, Digit and Dr Marbles all jump violently.

"Hello, Matt."

The red-haired boy looked around wildly, his eyes not yet adjusted to the darkness of the room. As he staggered blindly backwards, he stumbled straight into something that, under further inspection, turned out to be a workbench. They were in Dr Marbles' workshop.

"You stupid child…"

He recognised that voice; it was something he wanted to forget, but would always remember in the darkest of dreams and places… the voice he heard in his nightmares...

"You…" he whispered. "No… it can't be… I killed you… I saw you die…"

"I did not die, though you may have already worked that out." Everyone gasped as the eyes materialised right in front of them, coming out of the darkness steadily. "Let us have some light, shall we?"

The lights in the workshop flickered to life, revealing the ever-terrifying, figure of Crimson Blade: commanding, fear-inspiring, utterly insane. Both Inez and Jackie recoiled from this creature of nightmares, recognising him immediately; Dr Marbles backed up against the wall, and Digit hid behind the two girls. Only Matt stood his ground as Crimson stepped forwards, only stopping when they were nearly eye-to-eye.

"Why are _you_ here?" Matt demanded, fists clenching convulsively. "You should be burning in **HELL** by now!"

"Oh, believe me, what I have been living through is quite equivalent to that." The creature's scarlet eyes narrowed in remembrance of his self-inflicted pain and solitude.

"I'm back, Matt. I'm back with a vengeance. I'm going to kill you, finally, for the extended suffering you have put me through." Here he paused, gestured to his battered, slightly faded self. "I suggest you at least try to scream – though it wouldn't be in your supposed "heroic character", now, would it?" He began to laugh, grating like fingernails on a chalkboard.

"Shut up!"

Inez surreptitiously pulled Matt's sleeve, trying to get the boy's attention, but he paid her no mind whatsoever, struggling to keep his anger under control as he glared at Crimson Blade. Sighing, Inez shrugged to the rest of her friends, who were already halfway out the door – Crimson had not locked it. "I'll stay here," she mouthed to them, and Dr Marbles nodded, shepherding Jackie and Digit quietly outside.

Immediately upon hearing Matt's outburst, Crimson ceased his laughter and stared incredulously at the eleven-year-old, who was trembling with fury, face pale, eyes burning with hate. "You son of a bitch…" he murmured, drawing away and beginning to circle, like shark waiting to strike a potential victim. "You dare tell me - "

"I said, shut **UP**!" Matt thundered, rage coursing through his veins, pumping through his entire self. "Just shut up! You almost cost me my friends before! And now, somehow, you've managed to come back! It's just not fair! Although _you _wouldn't know anything about being fair…"

"Oh, do be quiet," Crimson, snapped mildly. "I've had enough of your childish tantrums. It's time for you to die, now and forever. No one can stop me… all but one of your friends has fled. Fools…"

Matt glanced over his shoulder, saw that Inez was the only one who remained with him, and motioned for her to leave. When the Hispanic girl refused, firmly shaking her head, eyes fixed on Crimson Blade - who was surveying them both with a sardonic smile on his twisted face - Matt sighed and turned his attention back to the creature.

"Ah. How heroic," Blade mocked cynically. "She waits for you, Matthew. Why don't you go with her? It's not like you're going to be able to get away from me." Still eyeing them bitterly, he grinned all the more widely and waited for a response.

"Don't fool yourself, Blade," Matt shot back, and, reaching out and taking Inez's hand, he began to back away towards the door, inch by inch. "You've failed too many times to be able to catch me again. You're a failure, and always will be!"

"Hah!" Crimson laughed loudly, closing those glittering scarlet eyes in the midst of his mirth. "I think you're mistaken on who is the fool here."

"Well, I'll just leave you to figure that out!" Matt snapped, and suddenly darted for the door, shoving it open, Inez slipping through beside him.

As the boy knew he would, Crimson followed him, eyes gleaming insanely in the light. The redhead caught a glimpse of the creature speeding up to a run, arms outstretched to take him like some kind of fell zombie, and quickly slammed the door, keeping one hand clutched tightly on the handle. There was a loud THOCCK, the door rattled - then silence. Utter silence.

Dr Marbles and Jackie waited for them a little ways down the corridor; Jackie gestured for Inez to come, but the girl shook her head, pointed at the closed door. Digit had gone to reboot and warn Motherboard.

The four of them held their breath, and listened carefully, waiting for something to happen. The electric silence lasted for what seemed like an age, until Matt sighed, released the handle, and backed away to the opposite wall, still looking warily at the closed door.

It was when he relaxed fractionally and started to gesture to his friends to leave that Crimson Blade's Blackjack hand smashed through the wooden door, groping, his hand searching along the floor, feverishly, desperately. When he failed to grasp what he was searching for -

CRASH! The other hand broke through the door, sending splinters and pieces of wood flying through the air.

Jackie screamed; Inez turned white; Dr Marbles froze. Matt drew back, hesitant, watching as Crimson, apparently not quite satisfied with the current situation, drew back and kicked the door down, stepping over it with a triumphant look on his face.

"You cannot run from me, pathetic human boy!" he cried gleefully, and it was then that Matt saw the true insanity that ran below the surface of a cunning mind: the insanity that blinds, the insanity that takes control, the insanity that is the driving force behind the murderous intentions.

Before he could get a good start on Blade and escape along with his companions, the creature moved swiftly towards him and slammed a hand into Matt's chest, full force, knocking the boy backwards to the ground. Winded, Matt tried to get up, but failed – the pain was still too much. Diving forwards, Crimson then planted a knee on Matt's aching chest, pinning him down, and then placed his mismatched hands around the boy's throat. It was then that he began to tighten his grip.

Matt fought to get free, but under the painfully strong hold of Crimson's hands, resistance was futile. As the creature's grip tightened further, he began to choke, airway cut off. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move… and the entire time those glaring eyes were burning into his, as if they might pierce his soul itself.

"There is no escape… I'll always be there, Matt. Wherever you go, however many times you manage to elude me, I will always find you. But, it looks like your final curtain has arrived." The quietly whispered words into his ear made Matt's blood boil with rage he had never experienced before in his life.

"I hate you…" he gasped, through tightly clenched teeth. "I hate you…"

Crimson took absolutely no notice of this statement; he merely smiled grimly, his attention focused entirely on the boy, and continued to put his full strength into crushing the life out of his victim. Matt felt himself growing somewhat dizzy, but refused to let himself stop fighting… with limbs that were turning numb from lack of oxygen, he attempted to shove his hand into Crimson's face – therefore obstructing his vision and perhaps distracting the creature – but his slowing mind let him down, and he missed.

The world was starting to dim… it darkened until all he could see were the bright crimson eyes… they widened as Crimson realised he had almost succeeded in his lifelong dream, then narrowed once more as the creature began to speak again.

"Can you feel it, Matt? Can you feel the proximity of Death? I hope he punishes you dearly of the lives you've cost me…" He paused, no doubt for frightening emphasis. "I hope you have a very_ painful_ condemnation."

Then Matt realised, as his struggles grew weaker, as he continued to choke, his lungs desperate for air, gasping… there was no hope. No way he could get free. Crimson Blade was just too strong for him… for any of them… Finally, the creature had just about gotten what he had wanted for so long.

He was going to die, here and now.


	4. Fade

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase.

**Genre: **Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense/Angst… A bit of everything, really.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Er…the song lyrics…well, all I know is that the title is 'Fade to Grey'. I found them on this random website and I have no idea who they're by. But anyways, I don't own them, and I don't seek to make any profit whatsoever.

I really hope this goes all right…Hmm… :-/

**Re-edit Notes:** Meep. :-) See what I meant by the minor plot change? It influences what happens at the end of the chapter, but, as I said, it doesn't upset the story whatsoever.

Chapter 4: Fade To Grey 

Crimson Blade began to laugh elatedly, softly at first, then louder, as Matt went limp, his limbs still twitching slightly. His eyes were dimming… blank, lifeless…

_**It's not hard to know what you're thinking  
When you look down on me now**_

The world was spinning slowly…

Meanwhile, Dr Marbles, Inez and Jackie were standing, transfixed in horror, as they watched one of their best friends being throttled to death. (Dr Marbles and Jackie had both joined Inez shortly after Crimson had kicked down the door.)

Each one was wildly racking their brains, searching for something that might drive Crimson away. But there was, indeed, no point. Once Crimson was finished with Matt, it was likely he would also murder the rest of them to destroy any evidence of him being there.

And the terrifying creature was too strong for any of them, despite his seemingly tattered appearance.

Hope began to fade in their hearts, and though they all loved Matt, there was nothing they could do. The fear and evil that Crimson Blade emanated was too much to bear from a distance, let alone fight.

Yet, Matt had resisted, with a new kind of courage they had not witnessed before. However, one glance at where that courage had taken him, and the Cybersquad, minus Digit, averted their faces, soul shriveling in fear.

_**Your trance of love is seeking  
To turn this world around  
But in my state of blind confusion  
No God can pull me out**_

As Matt finally shuddered and stopped moving entirely, eyes staring into empty space, Crimson hissed in victory and released his hold on the boy's throat, positively grinning with his success. It looked as though his face would almost split in two.

Just as the last of his vision was disappearing, and the dizziness became too much, Matt glimpsed Jackie and Inez's expressions. Jackie's was practically white with terror; tears were rolling down Inez's cheeks. The pain was overwhelming, threatened to throw him into that black void of darkness; his heart laboured, trying to keep going, despite the lack of fuel. Even now, without Blade's grip preventing the flow of oxygen to his heart, it was too late. Both his heart and brain had gone too long without the vital air. Seeing one of Inez's tears fall to the floor, wanting to comfort his friends somehow, let them know that soon there would be no more pain, Matt struggled to perform one last thing before – before he –

The world went endlessly, infinitely black.

_**I see your love is willing  
To turn me inside out**_

_**And then I see you there  
The lonely tears I cry  
I wish they'd release me**_

Crimson, satisfied his detested enemy was gone at last, spun to face the rest of them. He was confident once more, made that way by the final and total defeat of the one thing he loathed above all others.

"I'm in a killing mood tonight…" he whispered, then threw back his head and laughed, long and loud. As he ceased this expression of victory, he stepped towards Inez, who was staring at Matt's motionless form, tear-streaked face blank with shock.

"Wait…" he hissed, suddenly remembering something. "Wasn't there another of you? A bird?" Blade glared from one face to another, racking his brain. Before any of them could make up an excuse, or respond at all, the creature answered himself.

"No… that must have been a different life…" he said softly, crimson eyes flickering. Folding his arms, he stared at the remnants of the Cybersquad, pondering what to do with them. "I think you deserve a nice, slow death. Something you'll remember even when you're dead. I know the feeling." He shrugged. "At least you'll be with your precious _Matthew_."

_**It's in despair that I find faith  
Summon the night to bow down to day**_

If looks could kill, Crimson would definitely be dead and gone by now; Dr Marbles, Inez and Jackie all gave him extremely poisonous looks – which was the only thing they could do at that moment.

Sighing deeply, the twisted creature half-turned, pointed into the workshop. "In there. Go to that metal door. You - " he pointed at Dr Marbles, eyes flaring, " - open it."

They all did as he commanded, leaving Matt behind on the floor, and with cold, trembling hands, Dr Marbles slid the latch back and pulled the heavy thing open. Crimson shoved him in the back, causing the Doc to stumble forwards. "Get inside."

"But - " Dr Marbles spluttered. "That's the freezer - "

The insane glow increased in Blade's bright red eyes. "I know, you fool."

_**When ignorance is bliss  
Save me from myself**_

Shivering both from the cold and from terror, Dr Marbles stepped slowly inside, followed by Jackie and Inez, after being prompted by Crimson Blade. "Please," Jackie suddenly spoke up, as she turned to face the creature. "Don't do this…" She bit her lip, tears now threatening to spill down _her_ cheeks.

"I can. And I will."

The statement was delivered coldly, and it revealed the pure heartlessness of Crimson Blade. At this, Jackie let the tears flow, and folded her arms, trying to keep warm in the icy cold of the freezer.

"Don't cry," Dr Marbles admonished, and Jackie looked up at him, surprised. "They'll freeze on your cheeks," he explained gently. She nodded and wiped them off slowly.

"And now," Crimson Blade interrupted, "My task is finished. I bid you all adieu." He inclined his head slightly, mockingly. "Have a nice time. Or should I say, have a nice _death_."

And with that final sentence, he slammed the door shut easily and rammed the latch home.

Immediately, Inez ran to the little circular window and peered out, trying to see what was he was doing outside. She saw Crimson smirk at the closed door, step outside, and then he was gone from sight.

_**And then I see you there**_ _**  
With your arms open wide and you try to embrace me**_

She turned around and saw Jackie huddled in the corner with Dr Marbles, trying to keep warm.

"Isn't there any other way out?" Inez asked desperately. "Or are we just going to sit here and freeze?"

Dr Marbles shook his head, eyes sad behind the red-rimmed glasses. "I know this from inside out. There is no way of escape other than out that door."

"Come on!" the girl responded. "We're the Cybersquad! We can figure this out." She looked from Jackie to Dr Marbles, silently pleading with them not to give up.

"We aren't the Cybersquad without Matt," said Jackie quietly. Another tear rolled down her cheek unbidden, and she furiously dashed it off with the back of her hand.

_**These lonely tears I cry**_

"Yes, we are! Even though Matt is d - is gone, the three of us are still here." Inez's fists clenched spasmodically.

"Inez," Dr Marbles replied gently, "The best thing to do right now is try to keep warm."

"I don't see why we can't figure a way out." She folded her arms suddenly.

"Look, Inez, either way we're going to freeze. Just come over here." Jackie was becoming irritated.

The brown-haired girl sighed deeply, shook her head, and continued to stare out the window.

-

Grinning, Crimson Blade kicked Matt's still body with disgust. "You deserved it, Matt," he whispered. "You deserved every bit of it." He crouched down to study the boy's white pallor with almost grotesque interest. "If only I could witness your death a thousand times over. But, never mind. At least, this time, I achieved my ultimate goal."

Rising once more, he lifted his face to the roof and crossed his arms in a symbol of death, his image dissolving rapidly until he had disappeared entirely.

**-**

_**They keep me in chains and I wish they'd release me**_

Suddenly, Inez yanked her Squak Pad out of her pocket and stared at it hopefully. "Of course…" she whispered.

"Inez, what the heck are you doing?" Jackie asked, startled by the sudden movement. "Why - "

"I know how we can get out of here," her companion replied, eyes gleaming at this new proposal. "I have no idea why we didn't think of it before…" She shook her head. "But it doesn't matter." She raised a finger, punched in a couple of buttons, looked at the blank screen hopefully.

Dr Marbles immediately cottoned on. "Inez, you're quite right," he said, shaking his head. "I really don't see how we didn't come up with that."

Jackie immediately lost her temper; it had already been shortened by the temperature and of the past events. "Would someone PLEASE enlighten me of what this simple thing is?" she yelled.

Both Inez and Dr Marbles looked at her in surprise; Jackie almost never spoke like that. "Sorry," she mumbled apologetically. "I just want to know so we can get out of here."

"I'm calling Digit, so he can come get us out of here." The bespectacled girl got straight to the point. "Ah, here we go…"

"Yeah?" The familiar face of Digit flickered on-screen. "Inez! What's up? Where's Crimson Blade?"

"Hi, Didge," Inez responded quickly. "Look, Crimson is gone – I think – but he locked Dr Marbles, Jackie and I in the freezer!"

"What?" the cybird made to hang up. "I'll come get you, just wait a - " He paused, suddenly thinking. "What about Matt?"

The Hispanic girl shook her head, eyes unhappy. "You'll see for yourself."

_**Colder is the night but  
Colder still is the heart made of stone, turned from clay**_

A few minutes later, Digit let them out of the freezer. "Go Didge!" Jackie said gratefully, and promptly hugged the subdued robot.

"You saw him?" Inez asked softly, seeing the expression of sadness on Digit's face.

"Yeah," the cybird mumbled, almost soundlessly, and led them slowly out to where the boy was lying.

"Matt!" Inez dropped to her knees beside him; Jackie stood at his other side with Dr Marbles and Digit. He was still limp, still immobile, still cold as death.

Reaching out an ice-cold hand, Inez closed the faded eyes and bowed her head, clasping Matt's equally cold hand in her own. Jackie and Dr Marbles sighed and also lowered their heads in sadness, while Digit stared at Matt's strangely peaceful face, unable to look away.

"What are we going to do without him…?" the cybird whispered.

_**And if you follow me**_

_**You'll see all the black, all the white fade to grey**_

_**Fade to grey**_

_**Fade to grey…**_


	5. Awake

FINAL DESTINATIONS By Final Fantasy GX 

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cyberchase.

**Genre:** Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense/Angst… A bit of everything, really.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, as evil and twisted as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Crimson has a new goal: to team up with Hacker and destroy the people - other than the Cybersquad - who caused him suffering.

**Re-edit:** Hmm, not really much to edit here. Perhaps just a couple of word changes, but that's it.

**Chapter 5: Wake Up**

_  
_The very air seemed to shiver with the passing of two disembodied red, glowing eyes. As the shimmer in the air shot past houses in the cybersite of Sensible Flats, the people cringed without knowing why; a sense of cold and fear seemed to wash over them without reason.

Little did they know that the cause was a thing of pure evil passing them.

Mentally satiated by the death of his mortal enemy, Blade hurtled towards the one place where he could achieve the rest of his goals, the most common source of evil in Cyberspace: The Northern Frontier.

The idea had occurred to him not long ago. After he had tampered with the kids' portal, it occurred to him that Matt wasn't the only one who had caused him suffering. What about the citizens of Cyberspace? Hadn't that raven-turned-prince helped the kids, therefore causing them to destroy him? Who had guarded the Eye of Rom, which Hacker took and so he was then crushed by a pyramid? What about Cy Clone, who had destroyed one of the only decent lives he had had by capturing him?

The chance he had of taking his revenge out on these people was by joining forces with the most evil being – other than himself, of course – in Cyberspace: The Hacker. His assistants, however, were of no use to Blade, as the creature simply thought them to be bumbling idiots.

Together, they would crush these people – then Crimson had one more task to complete after that. It remained as a scrap, a trace of a thought in his mind, but slowly blossomed into a full idea as he arrived at the Northern Frontier.

Grinning evilly, Crimson gathered himself together and shot towards the Grim Wreaker, aiming for the main control room, where the evil genius was most likely to be.

-

The first thing he heard was the sound of someone crying softly. He could feel the slight touch of a hand on his that – although cold – seemed strangely familiar to him.

He took a breath, then choked. It was painful to breathe, let alone move any part of his body; he struggled to open his eyes, eventually succeeded, but even then, his vision was blurry.

There was a gasp of fear above him; he wondered what was wrong. Maybe he had ended up in the wrong place – hadn't he died so very long ago? It seemed like a lifetime.

His ears detected frantic whispering, and still all he could see were blurs of colour. Then a voice rang loudly in his ears, seemingly discordant after the long silence:

"Matt? Matt!"

He groaned, and finally managed to focus his eyes; his vision was slightly distorted, but he didn't care, because there in front of him was the last thing he had expected to see.

"I… Inez…?" It was difficult to talk; his throat burned like fire. "I'm… not dead?"

"You wouldn't be looking at me if that was true…"

"Right…" Carefully, the boy pushed himself up on his elbows. "Where's… C-Crimson?"

His friend frowned. "I – I don't know," she replied, in a trembling voice. "But that doesn't matter. You're alive…" She shook her head, eyes shining with fresh tears, barely able to believe it. Then Matt heard a screech of delight, and was hit by two people at once. He choked again; someone's arms were drawn tightly around his neck.

"Hey – get – off!" he spluttered, disentangling Jackie from his throat and removing Digit from his waist. Then he looked into both their faces, confused for a moment. "What happened to you…?"

Jackie's hair was straggly and coming out of its normally neat bun, her face tear-streaked; Digit looked a little pale and his wings were dirty from trying to reboot Motherboard.

"Ugh, please don't remind me," the African-American remarked, flicking away the strands of hair and wiping her face in an attempt to tidy herself up a little. "Ew! Look at me! I need a shower…" she moaned.

Dr Marbles came to stand next to Inez. "I'm glad to see you awake," he said, smiling. "We all thought you were-" He stopped, and looked awkward.

"Dead," Matt finished. "Well, I'm not, so could you please inform me of what happened after I passed out?" He glanced at each of them in turn, questioning.

Dr Marbles nodded, and he explained what Crimson Blade had done. "We were lucky to get out," he said thoughtfully. "If it wasn't for Inez, I don't think we would have survived."

Inez flushed slightly. "It was nothing, Doc."

Matt interrupted them both. "So you don't know where Crimson Blade has gone?" he asked. "Because when I find him, I'm going to - " and he made an extremely obscene gesture.

"Matt!" Inez said, shocked, staring incredulously at him. "That's… that's not nice…" she finished lamely.

He gave an embarrassed grin. "He'll deserve it, after what he's done to us." The red-haired boy then sighed.

"Um… can you help me get up? My legs are still a bit numb…"

-

Half an hour later, the Cybersquad were sitting in front of Motherboard's monitor, discussing a report that had just come in.

"Could you please play that recording again, Motherboard?" Dr Marbles requested. The supercomputer nodded. "Of – course."

A face flickered on-screen: a citizen from Sensible Flats. "Motherboard? You there? I thought it might be important… not two minutes ago, I saw two red eyes go streaking past me on the main road… I know it sounds crazy, but I swear on my mother's grave I didn't hallucinate. It was heading in the direction - " he swallowed,  
" – of the Northern Frontier."

The image then dissolved into static. Sighing, Dr Marbles turned back to the kids. "Well?"

"I think the only solution is to go check it out," Matt said, glancing around at his friends. "I think it was Crimson Blade that that citizen saw, judging by the description, and we _have_ to stop him, no questions asked."

"I agree," Jackie responded. "This is our only lead, and it's the only way we can make sure where he's headed now. We may not be able to fight him, but we need to know what he's doing."

"What if Blade is really at the Northern Frontier? He may be seeking to join with Hacker," suggested Dr Marbles concernedly, leaning back against the panel.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Inez firmly. She stood up with the other three and came to stand next to the Doc.

"We'll be okay, Doc," Digit assured him. "We're the Cybersquad, remember?" The cybird glanced at Jackie when he said this, and she grinned sheepishly.

"Very well." Dr Marbles closed his eyes and opened them again. "I only hope that nothing happens to you." Then he turned to the controls and told Motherboard, "We need a portal."

As the pink, sparkling portal appeared, Inez turned to Dr Marbles. "We'll call you on the Squwak Pad if we need assistance." She smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.

Then the Cybersquad were sucked in, and the portal vanished without a trace. Sighing heavily once more and laying his head on Motherboard's massive hard drive, Dr Marbles closed his eyes and fervently prayed with all his soul that no one would get injured or even murdered.

_Because he would feel responsible if such a thing came to pass. _


	6. Stranger

**Final Destinations**

**By Final Fantasy GX (GothicXpress)**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Cyberchase._

**Author's Note/s:** Yeah...this chapter is quite random, but I'd count it as one of the better ones. Delete and Buzz meet Crimson Blade, much to their horror, and the Cybersquad...well, you'll see.

**Chapter 6: Stranger**

"Aww, boss..." whined Delete in protest. "Do we have to?"

"It has to be done, duncebucket, and besides, I have better things to do," snapped Hacker in smart reply. "When I tell you to do something, you're supposed to do it without question." He glared at the tall android, and gestured with a green-skinned hand at the computer controls. "Get on with it."

It was a fairly regular day at the Northern Frontier in the Grim Wreaker: Hacker was ordering Buzz and Delete to organize the files in the computer system – which neither of them had any motive to do so, considering it was, well, _boring_.

As Hacker stalked out of the room without further comment, Delete turned to his shorter brother. "I guess we'd better do it then," he said resignedly. Buzz rolled his eyes. "Stop complaining, Dee Dee," he remarked, hopping up onto the panel and folding his arms. "It's better 'dan cleaning 'da entire ship."

Both robots shuddered at the memory; the last time Hacker had made them do so, it had taken three whole days to get the Grim Wreaker clean, and they had been unspeakably exhausted, dirty and sore for a long time afterwards. Frankly, neither of them particularly wanted to experience that again.

At length Delete sighed. "You're right, Buzzy." The younger android then pulled a chair up to the monitor, and plopped down in it. Tongue sticking out slightly, he raised a finger and pressed a couple of buttons on the controls. At this prompt a list of all the files in the system came up. As far as he could tell, there were well over one hundred, which was a lot more than he had hoped.

"Over one hundred..." he muttered sulkily to himself. Though he didn't mean to make the comment audible, Buzz heard it anyway and snorted.

"Deeds, if you had some idea 'dat a computer system needed less than one hundred files ta' keep it running, you're more dim than I thought."

"Hey!" his younger brother protested. "How was I 'posed to know?" He slouched back in his chair and assumed a sulky expression.

The stocky android slapped his face. "Delete, considerin' you're a robot, you should know 'dese things."

"Well, I don't!"

"Well, you should!"

"But I don't!"

"Delete, shut up!"

Annoyed, Delete reached out and whacked Buzz hard on the head with a clenched fist; the stocky android, once regaining his senses, growled and shoved his brother so that he almost fell out of the chair. "Hey -"

Upon finding his balance again, Delete pushed Buzz back as hard as he could, provoking the shorter android into falling backwards onto one of the controls. "Whoa -"

Immediately, the Grim Wreaker's indoor sprinkler system turned on, spraying the room with icy water. Puddles of the stuff pooled on the floor, and Buzz, once he had managed to get himself to his feet again, began shouting at Delete in a fury.

"Delete, you idiot - !" Unfortunately, before he could finish, as he stepped forwards his foot landed in a puddle of water and the short robot went crashing down onto his backside again.

Water dripping off his antenna and trickling down into his eyes, Delete pointed at the button behind Buzz and spluttered, "Turn – it - off!"

Through the hiss and splash of the water, Buzz could barely hear his younger brother. "What?" he hollered, sitting up and almost choking on the liquid that went streaming off him and into his mouth.

"I said, TURN IT OFF!" Delete yelled back in full lung power, and Buzz, finally hearing the request and seeing where the rangy android was pointing, quickly reached out and slammed his hand down on it.

With that, the sprinklers slowed to a trickle and finally turned off, leaving the entire room dripping with water. A couple of sparks flew from the control panels; Delete ran for the hallway. Swearing under his breath, Buzz ran for a cupboard and pulled out some towels and threw them onto the sparking regulators.

"Crap, crap, crap," he muttered. "Let's just hope 'dat the controls aren't broken after 'dat little incident." Working as fast as he could, the undersized robot mopped up the water that lay on the control panels. Delete re-appeared from the next room, carrying a mop and bucket, and began to dry the floor.

"That was your fault," was the first thing he said to Buzz, squeezing the water into the metal bucket.

Bristling with anger, Buzz wheeled around and shouted, "DELETE! You were 'da one who pushed me onto 'da controls! Don't blame ME for something YOU did!"

His brother wasted no time in replying. "You said I was stupid!" Floor now dry, the tallish robot poured the bucket's contents out the window and set it and the mop aside. Grabbing one of the towels, Delete started to clean off the furniture.

"No, I didn't!" Buzz finished off, also threw the now sopping towels out the window (without noticing what he was doing), jumped up on the dry control panel, and turned to face Delete, hands on hips.

"Yes, you did!" the taller android responded, irritated, pausing in his drying to give Buzz a small glare.

"No, I said you were dim, not stupid!" Buzz folded his arms again and stared pointedly at his younger brother.

"They're the same thing!"

"No, they're not!"

"Yes, they are!"

That was how, as they continued to argue loudly, the pair failed to notice Crimson Blade materialise in the doorway, hidden in shadow. Buzz had just opened his mouth to explain the differences when both of them were interrupted.

"_Stop right there."_ The cold, horribly calm voice spoke. Frightened out of his wits, Delete dropped the towel, turned to face the person who had spoken and whimpered in fear. Buzz, on the other hand, merely looked surprised as he saw the being. The androids completely forgot about their argument in the face of the situation.

"Who are _you_?" he demanded arrogantly, in an attempt to sound brave. Not really wanting to jump off the controls and therefore look extremely short (more than he currently was, anyway), the robot waited for an answer, not daring to take his eyes off the apparition. He couldn't see any of its features - only the faint outline, which seemed strangely misshapen - except for two glowing, red eyes.

"My name is Crimson. Crimson Blade," responded the figure coolly, and inclined his head in the slightest courtesy possible (to show this, the eyes dipped a little). "I seek The Hacker." He glanced over at Delete, who was frozen in place, terrified beyond belief. "I see that both of you have not changed from since I last saw you."

Buzz was instantly confused. Of all the people he had met, he couldn't recall ever meeting someone who had that same chilling voice and crimson eyes. One thing was for sure: he had never met this Crimson Blade, whoever he – or she, he had no idea which – was; so how could he have made their acquaintance before? Desperately, he racked his brain for something to say, the puzzled expression still on his face.

Reading his thoughts through the confused look, Crimson Blade grinned at this sudden show of weakness and revealed himself, stepping out of the shadows into full sight.

Buzz nearly fell off the control panel as he glimpsed Blade's mismatched body: Delete let out a sob and covered his face with his hands, too frightened to move or say anything, half-hiding behind the table. Buzz was just about as afraid, though he hardly dared to admit it.

"Uh – um – "he stammered, sweating profusely under the insane, piercing gaze of the horrific creature. "I –"

It was then that Hacker walked back into the room, scowling deeply. Delete shook all the more when he saw that the green cyborg was dripping wet, and had a towel draped across his head. Buzz almost fainted at the sight of him; whether it was from relief or fear, he wasn't sure.

"BUZZ! DELETE!" Hacker yelled, marching forwards. "What in the name of evil were you _doing_ up here? And why the heck did you pour water out of the window, drenching me, as well as throw this towel right onto my handsome head?"

The evil genius, as he yanked the towel off his head, stopped short as he saw Crimson Blade. In one glance he saw Delete hunched up and trembling behind the table and Buzz pressed back against the wall on the control panel. Then he looked back at Blade, and immediately went pale.

"Who in all of Cyberspace are you?" he demanded, taking in the various features of the creature; his eyes widened at the sight of the Blackjack arm, parts of the Cybersquad, and his own hair (wig, whatever.). He also completely forgot the towel incident at the sight of the abomination.

"Crimson Blade, at your service," Blade responded in that same composed voice, a tinge of sarcasm in his tone. "I have a proposal to put forwards."

"Really..." the green cyborg wasn't sure whether to trust this strange being or not; it was made up out of the people he knew, after all. "Would the results be in my favour?"

"Of course," Blade snapped, scarlet eyes narrowing. "Why would I even bother to come here if it wasn't?"

Hacker flinched mentally, but didn't show it on the outside. This creature was obviously very intelligent, and seemed strong enough to hold his own, or, indeed, he wouldn't have come here in the first place. He chose his next words carefully.

"And what would be in it for you?"

For the first time since he had arrived, Crimson Blade's composure shattered. The twisted creature hissed and drew himself up, his eyes burning into Hacker's. Fists clenching, eyes twitching slightly in the passion of his words, he replied in a low, angry voice: "I seek only to bring revenge upon the ones who have caused me suffering, and give them what they deserve."

At these words Hacker frowned slightly. _I'm not going to trust him, not for a minute. But as long he helps me to further my own means, so be it,_ he thought to himself. "Where did you come from?" he asked, finally. "And what is this 'proposal' you speak of?"

"Let's just say I'm the 'answer to your prayers'," the evil creature replied, smiling slightly, which made both Buzz and Delete shudder in unison. He paused for a moment.

"How would you like to get rid of a few people in Cyberspace?"

The sun beat down upon the barren lands of the Northern Frontier: brown, desolate, silenced.

Except for a single noise: the sound of someone yelling. It came closer, and closer, until finally a bright pink portal appeared and dumped a group of people on the ground below, vanishing again within a few seconds.

_Thump._

"Ow..." Digit winced as he rubbed his sore behind. "That wasn't too enjoyable..." Looking around, he saw that he had reached his destination, at least. Beside him, the kids were heaving themselves up off the ground, brushing dust off their clothing and tending to their particular afflictions. In this case, Matt was examining his arm, while Jackie was patting her hair and Inez was picking up her glasses from where they lay. "All right, earthlies?"

"Yeah...I think so..." Matt muttered, lowering his arm and shrugging his shoulder a couple of times; as he did so, Digit caught sight of the ugly bruises that covered his neck. Feeling sympathetic for the boy, the cybird turned to Inez and Jackie. "I guess we'd better get going..."

"Hmm..." Inez squinted. "There's the Grim Wreaker...Matt, what if Crimson Blade really is here?"

"We'll keep out of sight, and if we see him, we'll alert Dr Marbles. He'll know what to do." Despite his confident words, Matt's voice trembled on the word 'him'. The others all tried not to notice this, though they all were thinking the same thing: Matt was feeling very much afraid of Crimson. And personally, none of them blamed him.

Setting off in the direction of the Grim Wreaker, the Cybersquad discussed different ideas on how they were going to stop Crimson Blade. Unfortunately, every one of them came to a dead end, and now they were all in silence.

Suddenly, Inez stopped, at about the centre of the cybersite, which was quite near to the Grim Wreaker, and held up her hand to signal the others to do so. "Do any of you hear voices?" She frowned.

Upon the slow-moving wind, soft voices reached her ears, and even then she could only just catch the sound. The others, straining their hearing to the very limit, eventually heard them, too.

"They don't sound as if they're over where Hacker lives," Jackie said. "More like they're...." She paused, still listening.

"Underground..." Digit whispered. "Sounds as if it's underground..."

"That can't be possible," Matt protested. "How can the voices - if they are voices - be coming from down there?" He pointed at the ground.

"No, Didge is right, Matt," his companion confirmed, adjusting her black glasses. "They _are_ coming from underneath the cybersite. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. Listen to them properly; they don't sound as if they're coming from the surface, that's for sure."

"Someday we'll check it out, but for now we have to find Crimson Blade." Jackie shrugged and brushed off her skirt for the umpteenth time since they had arrived. "He's the one we have to stop."

"But what if the voices are related to what he's doing, if he is here?" Inez suggested, folding her arms. "We can't let that pass."

She was surprised to see Matt slump, and the light go out of his eyes. "It's no use anyway," the red-haired boy said bitterly. "He's too strong and can't be defeated. I killed him once – by his mind, many times - and he came back." Unconsciously he reached his hand up to his neck and touched the bruises gingerly. "You can't kill something that is already dead."

"Don't lose hope, Matt," Jackie replied, stepping into the shade of a tall rock. "I don't think he's dead, anyway. His strength is much too great for that."

(_Well, that's a help_, the redhead thought sarcastically, but decided to keep it to himself for his friends' sake.)

"Yeah...maybe..." Matt attempted to put on a brave expression. "I think we should forget about the voices for now. We have to find out where Crimson is, otherwise who knows what'll happen." He smiled at the others, more for his benefit than theirs, and leaned against the rock. He had just opened his mouth to say something more when -

"Whoa, what the -" With a yelp, the red-haired boy fell sideways as the rock slid across smoothly, as if driven by some kind of mechanism, and revealed a large, round hole. Inside, nothing whatsoever could be seen, only pitch-black darkness.

And it was into that darkness that Matt fell.


	7. Labyrinth

FINAL DESTINATIONS By Final Fantasy GX 

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among other people. I also don't own Dasariah and Vil Kothos: they belong to Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Song Lyrics:** "Where Will You Go" by Evanescence.

**Author's Note/s:** I've decided to make the layout of the chapter headings better, because they're kind of… not well done, if you know what I mean. So that's why it looks a bit better. Also, some new episodes of Cyberchase have finally come out here, so the characters should be a little more portrayed in Chapter 8.

You just cannot imagine how hard this chapter was to write. It was edited at least five times before I decided it worthy of submission. Phew. Next chapter will be with Hacker, Crimson Blade and his evil plan… :)

**Re-edit Notes: **This chapter is probably one of the ones most edited, mostly to clear up confusion about Scythe. Most of the original dialogue remains, but some has been removed and some has been added in.

**Chapter 7: Labyrinth**

"Ouch!" Matt gave another yell, this time of pain, as he landed on his back about five feet down from the surface. The ground was strangely warm and somewhat soft; it sloped down away from him. Groaning, not really wanting to stand, Matt sat up and put a hand to his ringing head.

"Ugh…" he muttered. "What a thing to happen at a time like this…" Brushing back those ever-annoying strands of hair that always seemed to obscure his vision at the worst of times, he carefully lifted himself to his feet and stared around. The voices they had heard before were louder; there were two tunnels leading to who knows where. Both were equally dark, but it was from one of them that the voices issued.

"I guess while I'm here, I may as well check them out." Matt stared upwards at the hole. Light filtered down through it and dimly lit the area, but he couldn't see his friends at all.

"Jackie! Inez! Digit!" he shouted, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Jax! Didge! Nezzie!"

Just when he was about to give up and continue on his own, someone came flying down the hole and landed next to him. Inez, her face set in a frown, got up and placed her hands on her hips. "DON'T call me Nezzie, Matt…"

"Okay, okay," the redhead replied, holding his hands up in a sign of peace. "Sorry. I forgot, Inez…"

"That's better," the Hispanic girl responded, and squinted up to the light. "Jackie, Didge, it's safe to come down."

Almost immediately, the other two jumped down the hole; a couple of seconds later, Jackie was standing next to them, checking her hair, while Digit was trying to tug his beak back into place. (Eventually, he succeeded.)

"Is everyone okay?" Matt asked, and his friends nodded. "I think we'd better go check those voices out, while we're here." He gestured to the tunnel on the right.

Jackie shivered. "I sure hope there aren't any bats down here."

Matt opened his mouth to confirm her statement, but Inez gave him a warning look and he shut it again abruptly. "Come on, guys."

Leading the way, Matt stepped slowly into the tunnel and looked around. Apart from the fact that it was pretty dark, it seemed fairly safe. He was about to start off again, but Jackie put a hand on his arm and he stopped. "What's up?"

"Matt, I seriously don't think this is safe. What if there really are people down here? I imagine we wouldn't exactly get a… warm welcome, you might say. Plus, it's pitch-black down there."

"Jackie is somewhat correct on that one," Inez agreed. "You're too important to lose, Matt. We almost lost you once; we don't want to lose you again."

_**You're too important for anyone,**_**  
**_**There's something wrong with everything you see**_

She held his gaze for a very long moment, but Matt refused to give in. "Look, the only way we're going to get out of here is by finding who those voices belong to. They obviously live down here, and so they would know the way out. I don't think we're going to find our way out ourselves, by the looks of things."

After considering this final statement, coming to the conclusion that Matt was right and there was nothing else they could do, both girls sighed, and nodded. "You're right," they said in unison. Digit nodded agreeably.

Still following the voices, the group travelled down the tunnel, which twisted and turned in confusing patterns. Many times, they passed other tunnels, but for the entire time, the voices were still ahead, always ahead.

_**But I, I know who you really are:  
You're the one who cries when you're alone**_

To tell the truth, the tunnel was not actually pitch black; a dim, barely perceivable light lit the walls and floor. As the Cybersquad continued, forever heading down - for the ground was still sloping - the light grew gradually stronger.

At times, they stopped and debated which way to go, for sometimes the voices led down a different tunnel. Eventually, as the minutes passed, the hallway they were currently in started to widen, until it led out into a massive cavern.

Warily, for the voices were now so loud that the words could be clearly heard, the Cybersquad stopped at the exit of the tunnels and peered out into the large room, keeping hidden behind a large rock that served to conceal their presence. The twitter of bats reached their ears; Jackie began to moan in horror, but Matt clapped a hand over her mouth, and she fell silent, glancing up at the ceiling every now and then.

Three figures stood in the middle of the cavern, their backs to the Cybersquad. From the conversation, the group could tell that the middle person was obviously the leader, while the other two were his servants. The centre figure could hardly be made out, so that the only way Matt could know he was there was the sound of his voice. (All of the voices were male.) To his left and right stood two people of similar stature and clothing: they both wore scarlet red, with simple armour covering their backs and chests, and shoulder plates protecting that area of them. White gloves clothed their hands and they wore silver, mid-calf-high boots on their feet; they were humanoid in appearance.

"Master, I think it past time that we, ah, 'persuaded' (the Cybersquad heard him crack his knuckles) Hacker to attack Motherboard with everything he has," the one on the left spoke.

"Dasariah Kothos, If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times!" the leader snapped. "I am NOT on the side of that green bastard, and I never will be, regardless of your opinions."

"It is the only way that that supercomputer can be defeated," replied the left figure.

"There are other ways… and besides, I have no interest in Motherboard," replied the leader. There was the sound of a deep sigh.

At the most inopportune time, a cloud of bats swooped from the ceiling, heading straight for the Cybersquad's tunnel. This time, Matt wasn't fast enough to stifle Jackie's shriek of horror, and she leapt out from behind the rock and sped away from the object of her fears, totally forgetting what was now staring at her with mixed expressions, from scorn to slight anger.

Looking up to watch where she was going, the African-American girl skidded to a stop and gaped soundlessly, shrinking away from the three figures that now faced her. "Uh - " she stammered, trying to force out the words that refused to come. "Er - "

_**But where will you go,**_**  
**_**With no one left to save you from yourself?**_

Not particularly wanting to leave her to face the trio alone, yet not really wanting to face the trio themselves, Matt, Inez and Digit crept out from behind the rock and drifted in to stand beside her. At that moment, another few bats fluttered past, and though Jackie shivered, she did not dare to move, pinned by gazes she could and could not quite see.

An amused chuckle came from the centre figure; it was quite strange to hear it because, as of yet, they still could not see him properly. The person on the left turned right around and snorted softly upon catching sight of the Cybersquad, while the other growled loudly, fists clenching in anger.

Unfortunately, a most grotesque thing occurred that disrupted the moment and disgusted just about all present.

As a bat passed quite close to the figure on the right, his head snapped up and, reaching out with lightning-quick reflexes, he grabbed it right out of the air, clutching it in his hands tightly, and proceeded to rip its wings off slowly and deliberately. In his hands the bat jerked and shrieked in rage, writhing in agony, while its fellows continued, ignoring their comrade's plight. Once this gruesome task was completed, he let them fall to the floor like feathers, the creature's lifeblood pouring out over his hands, dripping onto the floor in a blood-red stream. The bat gave a single, sharp cry and shivered in its final death throes.

_**You can't escape,**_**  
**_**You can't escape**_

Shuddering at this display of bloody viciousness, Jackie watched as the figure let the twitching bat drop from his hands to the floor with a soft, wet THUD. She could only imagine the agony, the pain it was going through, at the hand of this… thing. Digit moaned softly, his wings both hiding his face and covering his mouth, while both Matt and Inez stared in horror at the dying bat, faces pale.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," groaned the cybird, and rushed off to some distant corner to… I'll leave it to your imagination…

By this time, Matt had figured out which was which; though they both looked the same, the person on the left had icy blue eyes, while the one on the right had brown.

After a thorough search of the Cybersquad's appearance, the leader figure finally revealed himself, flickering into sight – which was quite startling, at first. He wore black armour with an emerald-green jewel set into the breastplate. The armour seemed flexible, moved with him, seemed a part of him; a black helmet hid his features from view. Reaching up, the figure pulled the helmet off his head, handing it to one of the large figures beside him.

It was the calm face of a teenager that now looked upon them, piercing, light grey eyes fixed on them steadily. He had short hair, as black as a raven's wing, while simple-framed glasses accentuated his eyes; his left shoulder was slightly higher than the other – the result of scoliosis, Inez immediately recognised.

Studying them each carefully, the light grey eyes travelled over the frightened Jackie, stopping for a moment on Matt, taking in the hideous bruises on his neck, before finally resting on Inez's face.

_**You think that I can't see right through your eyes,**_**  
**_**Scared to death to face reality **_

"You're the Cybersquad, aren't you…" he said softly, gaze still on Inez. It was not a question, just an obvious statement.

"Yeah," Matt replied shortly. "And who are you?"

For a moment, the light grey eyes glanced to him, and then flicked back to Inez. The young man smiled - that is, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "I am known here as Scythe." Then the expression was gone, replaced by a serious, yet slightly melancholy, look.

"From what we heard, you're evil," Inez said, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Yes, somewhat. I prefer to use the term 'twilight'." He held her level gaze.

"And you don't like Hacker."

"That is correct."

There was a long silence, in which Inez surveyed the strange teenager intently, and Scythe looked straight back at her with those clear, gray eyes. A thoughtful expression marred his smooth complexion for a moment as he studied the Cybersquad further, then his gaze returned to Inez.

"What are you going to do to us?" Inez asked, at length.

"It depends on the circumstances," Scythe replied softly, slightly dangerously. "If you come here with evil intent - " with these words, his eyes narrowed dangerously – " - then evil will come back to you. However, if your intent is other than that, let me hear your explanation."

"My friend Matt accidentally found the entrance to this place. We couldn't leave him down here, therefore we followed, and eventually came to this cavern."

The young man leaned back, contemplating this story. "I see. And why were you at the Northern Frontier in the first place? To fight the Hacker, perhaps." Upon mentioning the cyborg's name, Scythe looked as if he'd like nothing more than to spit.

Inez was silent for a moment. Should she tell this stranger about Crimson Blade? What would be his reaction? Deciding that it couldn't hurt – maybe this Scythe knew something about the creature – and taking a glance at the formidable DKothos and VKothos, she responded quietly:

"Do you know of a creature named Crimson Blade?"

"Speak not that name here!" The Cybersquad saw the grey eyes burn with a sudden flame. "It is one of an evil that not even Hacker's - " Scythe grimaced " – can rival."

"Then you know his story?"

"Yes. He and I, and my servants… we have met before, in one of his previous lives, although he was not called that at the time." After this statement, he fell silent, as if remembering something he was at loath to recall.

_**No one seems to hear your hidden cries;**_**  
**_**You're left to face yourself alone**_

The Hispanic girl watched the shifting expressions in his eyes before saying something that caught the teenager off-guard. "We intend to fight him."

Scythe stared at them incredulously, brought sharply out of his trance-like state. "The Cybersquad? Fight that creature of immeasurable evil?" He shook his head firmly, refused to believe that this could be achieved. "No offense intended, but surely you jest!"

"No, unfortunately." Inez seemed to slump slightly. "He wants to kill Matt – twice already has he attempted, and the previous time, he almost succeeded. We can't do anything else other than oppose him…"

"Ah," Scythe responded softly. "So that's why your neck is in such a state," he said to Matt, who was standing beside Inez. The red-haired boy nodded, fingers lingering on the bruises that covered his throat.

_**But where will you go,**_**  
**_**With no one left to save you from yourself?**_

"I know… that there is not much hope… to fight him alone," Inez said haltingly, glancing down at the ground, devoid of faith in their future. Scythe did not reply; his gaze shifted onto Digit, who was just returning (and still looking a little green), then moved to Jackie, who was listening to the conversation intently, then halted on Matt, who stared back at him confidently.

"What of you, Matthew?" he asked of the eleven-year-old. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Matt decided to look past the use of the nickname usually spoken by Inez, and said, "I admit that I'm afraid of him, but who isn't? I don't know how we can fight him either, but it's the only thing we can do right now…"

Scythe seemed to accept this; he looked back at Inez, expecting a response.

"Scythe…" she said slowly, staring at a point somewhere past him. It was as if she didn't dare to meet his gaze, because the piercing gray eyes might discover her thoughts earlier than she wished to reveal them. "Perhaps… perhaps you could help us fight," the girl said at last.

"I cannot," he responded simply; turning away and placing his hands behind his back, gazing at something beyond this world, beyond all pain, beyond death, with longing. Scythe continued to speak. "I am evil, at least leaning towards it, anyway; evil cannot help good. So it is known throughout the universe – including your own."

"You said yourself that you were… not fond of Hacker. We have reason to believe that this creature -" Inez almost spoke Crimson Blade's name, but stopped herself just in time – " - goes forth to join forces with Hacker. Why he does this, I do not know, but it is doubtless that his intentions are evil.

"Twilight. That was the term you used for your standing in this world. Twilight is not quite night, but not quite day, either… therefore you can help us, and still keep your twilight. You do not stand entirely in shadow. Without the likes of you, we stand almost no chance against this… this creature. And surely that must mean something to you."

"Do not listen to the girl, Master," hissed the brown-eyed figure, who had murdered the bat. "She tells nothing but lies to bend you to her ways."

Uttering a soft, "Keep thy silence, Vil," the teenager slowly faced Inez again. "But sometimes the shadows can consume all hope and everything that represents good," he replied, the depressed look deepening on his face. As he brought his arms to his sides again – he was not wearing the arm guards that usually went with the armour - Inez caught sight of many long scars running down them, alongside fresh ones that seemed too straight to be natural…. She could only guess their cause, and by the way he stared back at her with that dark expression, Inez thought - no, knew - that she was correct. However, she did not let this falter her, and showed no sign she had seen anything at all.

_**You can't escape,**_**  
**_**You can't escape**_

_"_But, in the end, the shadow's only a passing thing. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine all the clearer. Have you ever read the Lord of the Rings, Scythe? Sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? It was full of darkness and danger, betrayal and twilight. But also, with hope and bravery, with triumph and wisdom." With this courageous speech, the intelligent girl fell silent and waited for his answer, praying that he would see the light – no pun intended.

"In my eyes, the shadows never pass," Scythe responded dully. "A new day never arrives; the sun can never emerge again from the surrounding clouds." He glanced over at Dasariah. "I am also held back by other things." The bulky figure growled and crushed a rock beneath his foot.

By now, Matt was thoroughly irritated. They needed help, yes, but surely Inez didn't expect this Scythe to come to their aid? Hadn't he stated clearly that he could not? Personally, he thought that it would be a better idea to find their way out and locate Crimson Blade before anything happened.

Shaking his head, Matt turned to Jackie and Digit and said quietly, "Jax, Didge, this isn't going anywhere. I think we should find our way out."

Jackie held up a hand to silence him. "Matt, if you listened properly, maybe you could see that Inez has some good arguments," she snapped as softly as she could manage. "This guy could really help us."

"Could he?" Matt countered. "He said himself that he's held back by 'other things'. And besides, what's one person going to be able to do that we can't? Crimson Blade could be doing anything up there, and we should be looking for him!"

"I agree on that point," Digit spoke up. "I saw a tunnel over there, when I was…" He trailed off into a suggestive silence for a moment, then added, "And I haven't seen any other exits, other than the one we came out of."

"All right," Jackie said. "Inez is probably wasting her time, anyway. From the looks of things -" she jerked her head in the direction of the proceeding conversation – "- she isn't getting much headway."

"Then let's wait for a break in their talking. You convince her to leave, and me and Didge will check out the tunnel," Matt said, and turned his attention back to Inez and Scythe reluctantly.

"There's nothing stopping you from stepping away from evil – or twilight - even for just a moment," Inez was saying. "Your will is your own."

_**I realize you're afraid,  
But you can't abandon everyone**_

"Is it?" Scythe whispered to himself, so quietly that even Inez did not hear it. He then looked back up at her and said, "I am sorry… I must think about this."

And, walking a few paces away, he sank deep into thought, ignoring – or remained merely oblivious to - the events around him.

_**You can't escape,  
You don't want to escape  
**_

Matt, now guessing that this was the time to act, nudged Digit, cast a look at Jackie, and started to walk towards the tunnel the cybird had seen. He had only taken a few steps, however, when a large figure stepped in front of him and pushed him backwards.

"Where are you going, stripling?" Dasariah growled menacingly. Behind Matt, Digit stopped short and stared at him in fear.

_**I'm so sick of speaking words that no one understands,  
Is it clear enough that you can't live your whole life all alone?**_

Unfortunately for the pair, Matt remained unafraid. Glaring at the blue-eyed Kothos, Matt shoved past him, his temper running short. He was wasting precious time lingering here.

But as the red-haired eleven-year-old began to run towards the exit, Digit flying beside him, Dasariah reached out a massive hand and yanked Matt backwards again, throwing him to the floor roughly. In a split second Matt was on his feet once more, slightly winded but too angry to care. The cybird opened his mouth to say something but, staring at the huge bulk of DKothos, decided not to after all.

Yet again, it was unfortunate that Matt ignored the size of Dasariah.

"Let us go, you overgrown… uh… person… thingy…" His voice trailed off, as he was undecided upon what DKothos was, exactly.

"The master does not wish it," Dasariah replied stubbornly, clenching a huge fist warningly. Behind him, VKothos hissed, brown eyes alight with the expectation of a fight.

"Who cares what "the master" wishes!" Matt yelled back. "What matters is that we stop Crimson Blade, and the only way we can do that is by getting out of here – now!"

_**I can hear you in a whisper  
But you can't even hear me screaming…**_

DKothos simply ignored him, and continued to block their way, glaring down at them balefully. Fuming, Matt whirled to face Digit and shrugged. "I have no idea what to do now," he said angrily. "We definitely can't get past this guy."

"Maybe we can call Dr Marbles and Motherboard from here," Digit suggested, hovering in the air.

Matt frowned. "I just hope the Squak Pad has range from under here." Deftly, he slipped off his backpack and searched through it for a moment. At length, he held it up. "Here we go." Quickly he dialled in a couple of numbers, then waited for someone to answer.

Static was the only thing that responded to his summons; finally, Matt sighed and shoved the small machine back into his red backpack, slinging it onto his shoulder once more. "I'll bet it's that virus again," he muttered sullenly. "Or Crimson Blade has somehow gotten back into Control Central." Digit looked scandalised at the very thought.

_**But where will you go  
With no one left to save you from yourself?**_

Together, the boy and the cybird returned to where Jackie was talking to Inez. "Nezzie, Jax," Matt said softly, "We tried getting hold of Motherboard and Dr Marbles, but they aren't answering us."

Jackie stared at him in surprise; this was not usual of the supercomputer or the cyborg. "Maybe we're out of range," she suggested.

_**You can't escape,  
You can't escape**_

"Jackie, it isn't possible to be out of range. Motherboard can reach us everywhere in Cyberspace, remember?" Inez replied. "And don't call me Nezzie, Matthew!" She shot a small glare in the boy's direction before continuing, glancing over at Scythe as she began to speak again. "Like Jackie explained to me, I think we'd better leave before Crimson Blade decides to do anything more."

"Then it's agreed," Matt said. "We have to ask Scythe for the way out, no matter what he decides."

_**I realize you're afraid,  
But you can't reject the whole world**_

Before Inez could reply, Scythe walked back over to them, having considered the situation. Glasses glinting in the dim light, he halted in front of the Cybersquad, and spoke:

"I have made my decision."

_**You can't escape  
You won't escape  
You can't escape  
You don't want to escape…**_


	8. Encounter

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Whoa, that last chapter was massive. Bloody hell. -falls off chair-

Slider makes a small appearance here. (Small…?)

Re-edit notes: Phew. I'm getting tired… must go get something to eat. –munches on sandwich- :D Editing is going well at the moment.

**Chapter 8: A Violent Encounter**

"I will not have you destroying my chance of gaining revenge!" Crimson Blade yelled at Hacker, frustrated with the green cyborg's suggested plan of attack. "Too many weaknesses, too many ways your plan could go wrong…no…" His voice trailed off into mutterings as Buzz and Delete exchanged meaningful glances. "Complications… there is always a simpler way of destroying those who have caused me pain…"

Walking away from the table where Hacker was sitting (the green cyborg having a somewhat perturbed look on his face), the malevolent glint in Blade's eyes gleamed dangerously as he muttered to himself in a hoarse whisper:

"No… I will murder them myself…"

"Sorry?" Hacker asked, not quite catching the creature's words, and got up from the table.

"Never mind!" Crimson snarled, whipping around to face the green man again. "Take us to R-Fair City…where all things shall come together…" he muttered under his breath again.

Hacker was just about on the verge of cracking and screaming at the insane creature when something occurred to him that, surprisingly, he hadn't thought of beforehand. "What about Motherboard's brats?" he asked harshly. "Surely they'll be along in a few minutes to try and stop us."

Crimson Blade's face, quite suddenly, changed entirely; he actually smiled – no, grinned – and said, in an extremely pleased tone, "Oh, you don't need to worry about them…not at all…"

The green cyborg immediately caught on.

"You mean, you took care of those meddlesome kids?" Hacker almost danced with glee, but thankfully managed to restrain himself.

Blade nodded sinisterly. "Yes. The one you call Matt…his death was quite slow and painful. Very enjoyable indeed." He sounded as though he were simply talking about the weather. "Then again, so were the others'…" he added as an afterthought.

"What exactly did you do to them?" Hacker leaned forward, eagerly hanging on to every word.

"I locked the rest of them in the freezer: that silly Doctor, Jackie, Inez and that cyber bird."

Hacker was stunned and speechless, for once in his life. "And how did you manage to achieve this without them somehow outwitting you?" he asked cautiously. Blade was only too happy to oblige.

"Well…I travelled to Control Central and arrived just before that Dr Marbles sent out the call to the Earth children. I managed to divert the signal and twisted it for my own means," Crimson Blade explained. "Of course, Dr Marbles thought you were at Pompadoria, wreaking your usual havoc, because he had received a report, but, again, that was my doing.

"Once I had completed that part of my plan, I captured the Doctor and overpowered him easily." He snorted. "He may be a cyborg, but I am much, much stronger. Anyway, when the kids had come back via the portal I created, I lured them into a room and trapped them. And so… that was the demise of the Cybersquad."

"What about Motherboard?" Hacker said, on tenterhooks. "Surely you didn't leave her out of it…?"

Crimson shrugged. "What was the point? I have nothing against Motherboard. She has not caused _me_ pain, therefore I do not cause _her_ pain."

He was interrupted by Hacker slamming his face on the desk in mental agony. "The perfect chance," he sobbed, "The perfect chance! And you blow it…argh… the things I have to suffer…"

The insane crimson eyes flared in sudden annoyance. "Oh, shut _up_."

Hacker shut his mouth. He didn't particularly want a fight on his hands, especially after the news that Crimson could easily overcome a cyborg. Those silly children were out of his way, however…and this Crimson Blade, whoever he was, could turn out to be very useful…

Nodding, he set the co-ordinates, switched on autopilot and flew neatly out of the hangar. Looking out the corner of his eye at the twisted creature standing, statue-like, at the window, whispered:

"You'd better watch out, Crimson…you should know what I'm like with partners…"

-

The green-and-black ship landed safely in R-fair City, where it was met by shrieks of terror by the inhabitants of the cybersite. Citizens and visitors alike ran as if the Devil were after them – but considering the type of creature currently in the ship, no one could blame them.

The ones who were brave enough to gather into a small crowd at the base of the Grim Wreaker waited nervously for the emergence of their much-feared national enemy. But it was not he who appeared first.

Silently the ramp rolled down; silently the people waited. Many held their breath in expectance.

A foot stepped down from inside the Wreaker, and for a single moment all present thought that Dr Marbles himself had at last defeated Hacker. These hopes, however, were soon quashed as the rest of the creature appeared.

Scarlet eyes gleaming in the dull afternoon sunlight, Crimson Blade sauntered down the ramp with all the bearing of a victorious opponent. Sparks of light glinted off the metallic surfaces of his android counterparts; his ill-matched wings fluttered slightly in the light breeze. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as they recognised his different features, and Blade then halted just before the end of the ramp. Immediately, a space cleared in front of him as they all scrambled backwards to get as far away from him as possible.

It was then that Hacker descended the ramp with Buzz and Delete, standing threateningly behind Crimson Blade. Though the crowd then lay eyes on him, there was not a sound, for by this time they had all determined one thing: that no matter how much they knew about Hacker's bad deeds, it was nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compared to the strong feeling of evil emanating from this new creature. It was like a blanket that choked and smothered, a feeling of horror so real that it made you want to turn and run in the opposite direction, and keep running until there was nowhere left to go.

But the real horror had only just begun.

-

Meanwhile, not too far away, Slider, the teenager from Radopolis, was walking across the well-beaten grass, backpack slung across his shoulder and map in his hand, when he caught sight of a single thing that made hip stop and drop his map: the Grim Wreaker standing in the middle of a crowd of cyber-citizens.

"Hacker," he muttered.

Ever since the events with the Encryptor Chip, he had been searching for his father all over Cyberspace; and now, here was the one being who had caused his father's disappearance. Grabbing the first person that ran past him in terror, Slider pulled it behind one of the booths and asked urgently, "Tell me, quickly. Is Hacker here?"

The android in his grip twisted in an attempt to get away, and finally sobbed, "It's not only Hacker, it's this new creature that he's got with him…please, let me go!"

"It's all right," said the brown-haired teenager firmly. "Tell me more about this creature."

"Oh… God… It's - it's awful…" The robot moaned and tried to pull away again. "Insane red eyes… and the features of many people, all blended into one body… but the worst thing is the horror." For the first time since Slider had spoken to him, the many-coloured robot stopped struggling and stared at him in utmost revulsion. "It makes you want to run and run and never stop! Don't go near it… I'm warning you now… it's just horrible..."

As Slider released his grip on the android, it gave a half-choked sob and sped off in the opposite direction, heading away from the Wreaker. The teenager watched it disappear behind some rides, before pulling out a communicator he had made and calling Matt's Squak Pad.

-

"Greetings, citizens of R-Fair City!" Blade said loudly, his somewhat high-pitched voice echoing around the silent circle of people that surrounded him.

"My name is Crimson Blade. I suppose you're wondering what we – the Hacker and I, that is, - are doing here."

Agitated, Slider watched the screen anxiously as he joined the back of the crowd, and heard Crimson Blade's speech begin. "Come on, Matt," he whispered. "Come on."

"Well, it just so happens that I am trying to find someone. And you might just be able to help."

A small beep. A crackle. "Answer it, Matt!"

"You probably all know this person - "

The teenager clutched the communicator in his hands and risked a glance at Crimson Blade. Something was going to happen, he knew. He could feel it, see it in the glint of the creature's red eyes: something very bad indeed.

" - and that's why we have come to you in our time of need."

Still no answer. Almost panting from the strain, Slider punched in the numbers again with a trembling finger and waited once again.

"I hope you don't find my presence too terrifying." A small chuckle. "I certainly can't help the way I look right now."

A few more beeps, then –

"All I ask is that you help us. We won't hurt you, we simply want to find this person - "

Matt answered. "Yeah?" he greeted the tall teenager with a surprisingly grave face.

Slider almost fainted with relief. "Matt," he whispered. "Hacker's here."

"What?"

"He has this other creature with him. It's here right in front of me."

"Tell me what he looks like. Quick. This could be a matter of life or death."

"It already is, Matt…" Out of the corner of his eye, Slider saw a single figure step out from the crowd as Blade spoke the name:

" – who goes by the name of Cy Clone." In horror, Slider watched Crimson start to draw something out of his jacket –

"Slider!"

"Sorry, but someone is about to be killed here!"

"Hurry, Slider! What does it look like?"

"Red eyes, mismatched body. I can't stand here and watch someone be murdered, you know!"

something that gleamed like cold fire in the dim sunlight.

"We're in a bit of trouble at the moment, but we'll try and get there as soon as we can. Slider, be careful. Crimson Blade - " The signal cut out.

Furious, Slider stuffed the communicator into his backpack and shoved his way to the front of the crowd. Already, Cy Clone was looking apprehensive, as a huge knife - the one that had belonged to Hacker - was thrust in front of his face; the crowd murmured in surprise and fear.

"No, don't anybody move!" Crimson said. "I am capable of destroying all present here, quite easily!"

No one could question that statement. There was an awkward pause as everyone looked at each other, uneasy.

"Do you know what he did to me?" Blade suddenly yelled to the crowd, voice rising as extreme hatred coursed through him at the sight of the one who had helped in destroying him. Many shook their heads; Cy Clone did not dare to speak with the blade hovering inches from his face, and simply looked confused.

"He killed me, once! Do you recognise me at all?" the question was suddenly directed at the clone capturer.

"No," at last Cy spoke in an undertone. "I do recognise some of you, but I have never killed anyone."

"That's where you're wrong." The hand holding the knife shook with pent up excitement. "Do these two words ring a bell?" He paused, before bringing his face up close to Cy's and whispering hoarsely:

"Delete clone…"

Another pause.

"What do you mean by that? I'm a clone trapper. It's what I do."

"You put my short life to ruin by sucking me up like that, returning me to that android over there! But of course that meant I was no longer a sentient being! I was dead!" Crimson Blade shrieked. "I was DEAD, do you hear me! But it won't matter anymore, because now you're going to suffer a fate alike to mine!"

He brought the knife up and was about to send it hurtling into Cy Clone's neck, decapitation style, when at last Slider broke through the last of them and yelled, "STOP!"

Immediately Crimson Blade switched his deadly gaze from the frozen Cy Clone onto the teenager, and Slider felt his sudden bravery melting away like water on sand.

"Uh…" he said hesitantly, backing up slowly. The crowd was unresisting at his back. "Please… don't kill him…"

"Oh, I won't kill _him_ just yet…" Blade hissed, lowering the knife and turning to face the teenager.

Slider knew then he was going to pay dearly for what he'd done.

Hurry, Matt…


	9. Meeting

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Don't you just lurve cliffhangers? Slider is one of my fave characters, so I thought I might put him in at one point. Hope y'all like this chapter; the action gets more intense here.

**Re-edit: **Again, I say "meep". This chapter didn't really need any editing, but I needed to update the summary 'n all that.

**Chapter 9: Our Next Meeting**

Scythe had been about to tell them his decision when Slider had called Matt; now, however, with the red-haired boy hurrying towards the now-defined exit (Scythe had told Inez when Matt had been talking with Jackie and Digit), he grabbed Inez's arm and said quickly, "I'm coming with you."

Over his shoulder he yelled, "Dasariah! Vil! Guard this place and do not leave!"

Jackie took hold of Inez's arm, yanked hard and said, "Come on, Inez!" The remaining three, with Scythe at their side, ran out of the cavern after Matt.

As soon as they caught up to the eleven-year-old, the black-haired teenager took the lead. "We have to hurry!" Matt said urgently. "Slider could be in deep trouble!"

"Oh, so you actually don't mind him now," Jackie teased. She was quickly rebuked, however, when Matt yelled, perhaps to cover that fact that what she said was true, "This is no time for jokes, Jax! I know what Blade is like! If we don't get there in time, a lot of innocent people might be killed!"

The African-American didn't bother to answer as they stopped at a dead end. "Oh, man," she groaned. "A dead end."

Scythe shook his head. "Indeed, not." Stepping right up to the blank wall of compacted dirt, he pressed his hand on some hidden space, and steps began to appear.

In a few minutes, they were back on the surface, squinting at the sun, which was slowly inching its way down the sky. Not far away stood Hacker's hangar – which was now empty due to their expedition to R-Fair City.

"Maybe there's something in there that we can use to get to R-Fair City," Jackie said, pointing at the hangar.

"It's the only chance we've got," replied Inez. "I don't think Buzz and Delete would be there; at least, I hope not, anyway."

The group walked into the hangar, carefully looking around for any signs of Buzz, Delete – or any other person, for that matter. When it was apparent that no one was there, Matt ran over to a small coupe parked into the corner.

"Hacker's emergency coupe," he explained. "Buzz and Delete use it sometimes, remember?"

Inez nodded. "It's going to be a tight fit, however," she said thoughtfully, staring at the rather small-looking coupe. "But it won't matter, as long as we save Slider."

Climbing into the front of the cyber-coupe, Matt waved his hand at the remaining seats. "Hurry up!" Scythe slumped in the furthest corner of the back seat, while Inez sat next to him and Jackie went in the front with Matt. Digit squeezed into the back seat, trying not to jab Inez with his beak.

"Ow," she yelped suddenly; Digit shrugged and looked sheepish. "Sorry, Inez." She rubbed her arm and patted his beak apologetically. "That's okay."

"Uh… I don't really know how to fly this thing," Matt said nervously, glancing at the numerous controls.

"Push the green button," Scythe muttered from the back seat. He stared out the window, the surroundings outside reflecting in his glasses.

"Thanks." Slamming his hand down on the green button and taking hold of the controls, the red-haired boy didn't bother to ask how Scythe knew how to fly Hacker's coupe. "Okay, so which way to R-Fair City?"

Digit pointed in the correct direction. "There you go, Mattie." Gripping the controls as hard as he could and concentrating equally as much, Matt lifted the coupe off and they shot towards R-Fair City.

-

"Insubordination!" Crimson Blade screamed. "How DARE you try to stop me from destroying this clone catcher, who in turn has destroyed myself!"

"I don't understand - " Slider began to say, but before he could continue, Blade dropped the knife at his feet and grabbed the teenager around the throat.

"You're going to pay for what you've done…" the creature hissed maliciously, glowing eyes staring into his. "Oh, yes… you're going to pay, all right…" And his grip began to tighten.

"I have no need for knives when I have this!" Blade held up his other arm. "My strength… You see, now I understand why I was given another chance."

"Another chance for what…?" Slider forced out from beneath Crimson's stranglehold; hopefully he would be able to keep this creature talking until the Cybersquad arrived, as it seemed that Blade tended to stray from the point.

"Another chance to gain revenge. I chose this. I chose this body… this fate..." For a few moments, the large eyes went slightly glazed as he remembered the words he had spoken to Matt, not so long ago…

"_You know, I could go on about how many times I was killed by you. But none of them involved of this body. Oh no. This is my final body. My last chance for revenge. My body specifically designed to kill Matt. And I'm not even going to go into how hard I worked to get it. But don't worry. I didn't harm anyone in order to get it."_

_Matt was thoroughly spooked, but in a last-minute attempt to sound tough, shouted, "Oh yeah? Well, it looks like you lost the instructions trying to put yourself together!"_

The figure smiled. "Yes, joke while you are still capable of doing so. But I shall have the last laugh, once I avenge all the lives you killed."

"I remember… I remember all the torture he put me through…" Blade whispered, almost inaudibly. "Though it wasn't my final body. I rose again because I needed to complete my task… my purpose."

"Your purpose?" The brown-haired teenager gagged once as the hand that had him around the throat clenched considerably; Crimson Blade had snapped back to reality.

"Yes. You see, I fulfilled my main purpose not long ago. My purpose was to kill Matt. And now that is done…I will destroy all others who have put me through so much pain."

Slider was about to open his mouth to inform Crimson Blade that Matt was, in fact, quite alive, but the would-be murderer bared his teeth. "Enough questions!" he snarled viciously. "It is time for you to die, weak mortal."

"Stop right there."

The familiar voice rang in Crimson Blade's ears; not believing, refusing to, he snatched his hand away from Slider's throat as if it was burning hot, and the teenager stumbled backwards from him.

Everything seemed to slow down as the misshapen Blade whirled around to face to source of the voice. His hideous face twitched as he saw Matt standing there, arms folded, scowling fiercely. Cy Clone had disappeared into the crowd, which had parted to let the Cybersquad through.

"No…" Crimson murmured, disbelieving, unable to accept what had occurred. "Please… no…" It seemed as if his world had suddenly come crashing down upon his head; his piercing gaze dropped to the ground as he struggled to pull himself together.

Once he had calmed down a little, Blade's gaze snapped back up to Matt. "I killed you!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "I KILLED you!"

"You're wrong," the boy responded coolly. "You didn't. I survived – barely – and now, I've come to stop you!"

"No... no..." the creature muttered, clutching at his head, trying to comprehend what was happening. "You were dead... you were good and _dead_..." He choked upon the last word.

It was fortunate that he hadn't caught sight of the others yet, otherwise he would have totally broken down at that moment. Before Matt could say anything else, however, Crimson Blade let loose with a scream that made everyone in earshot wince and cover his or her ears. It was pain-filled, conveyed every feeling of fury and rage he had ever experienced, terrifying, emotional; it went on and on, until finally his voice cracked and it faded into silence.

Everybody thought that Blade wasn't going to say anything more as he struggled with himself; however, his face split into a grin, twitching as he fought to control the insane anger that was threatening to overwhelm him. He began to speak again.

"Do you remember? Do you remember when we first met? I saw you without that collected mask hiding your true feelings, I saw what I could do to manipulate you! And yet I judged you wrong but for two things: Your weaknesses lie in the people you love..."

Blade paused, that gruesome smile now fading.

"And you still remain, even now, a hopeless, wretched **LOSER**!" He screamed the last word at Matt, practically spitting with rage.

Matt really had no idea what to do with him, as Crimson's words had little to no effect on him, but he maintained his collected state so as to confuse Crimson Blade even more than he was at that current moment.

Suddenly, Blade straightened from his half-bent state of mental agony and looked Matt right in the eye.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said, in a hollow voice. "It doesn't matter about the others…because I'm GOING TO **KILL** YOU!" Another shriek escaped his throat, so loud it almost tore, and he leapt for Matt nimbly, aiming straight for his neck, pointed teeth bared and ready for action.

It seemed as though he intended to rip the red-haired boy's throat open, but instead he ducked low and launched a kick straight across Matt's legs as if to sweep his feet from under him. The crowd that was gathered gasped, but the boy jumped backwards, and Blade immediately jerked upright, spitting out a vicious curse.

After a pause, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if weighing his chances, Crimson finally snarled, "You know that you will never escape from me, Matthew?"

"I escaped from you once, and I can do it again," the boy replied. The crimson eyes flicked behind him to his friends, fortunately not seeing Scythe, as the teenager was at the back of the group with Slider.

"I see you fools escaped as well," Blade said matter-of-factly. "Never mind, I will assuredly kill you this time around!"

And clenching his fists once more, he sprang again for Matt's throat, knocking the boy over backwards and pinning him down with an iron-like grip. Crimson then bared his teeth for a final time and with a deep, low growl of anger, prepared to sink them into Matt's neck and rip out his throat…


	10. I Amar Prestar Aen

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Sorry this chapter is so belated. I haven't gotten around to posting it, is all; it was written quite a while ago.

**Re-edit Notes:** Yay! It's fluff time! XD The fluff scene in here is fully edited, sounds much better.

Chapter 10: "I Amar Prestar Aen…" 

As Matt felt Blade's hot breath on his neck and cringed, waiting for the painful moment when his throat would be torn open, he saw a figure stride up next to him and deliver a powerful kick to the creature's stomach, practically roaring words in another language that was unfamiliar to nearly all present.

"_Ash nazg durbatulúk! Ash nazg gimbatul! Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!_"

Almost immediately, the ground began to shake violently, and all citizens who had remained went completely mad at these words, running away as fast as their feet would take them. It was almost as horrible to hear those words as it was to be in the presence of Crimson Blade, yet the Cybersquad managed to remain there, determined to see this through. Slider had recovered himself quickly. (For once, Jackie and Inez took no notice of him.) Within a few seconds, thankfully, the ground ceased its leaping.

Crimson Blade fell backwards with a pained noise, clutching the area with both hands. As he landed on his back in the grass – that withered upon his very touch – his eyes flared, and he jolted upright, glaring full-blast at his opposer, still wincing with the pain in his stomach.

"Let **ME** handle this, Crimson." Smirking in a way that he only could achieve, Hacker stepped forwards arrogantly, only to be rebuffed by the figure shooting him a poisonous glare.

Ignoring the green cyborg completely, Blade studied the figure's face intently, thankfully forgetting the Cybersquad. His face contorted with fury as he realised exactly who he was facing.

"You!"

A sad smile lit Scythe's face. "Me." He shifted his position slightly forwards. "Why has it come to this, Huor Melwasúl? All this pain, this suffering, for what?"

The creature let out a hissing shriek of pent-up rage. "No more… NO MORE! Rest assured, this time your farewell will be forever, brother!"

"You lost the right to call me brother long ago!"

With one last battle cry, Blade leaped forwards, as did Scythe, and the two engaged in battle.

The Cybersquad watched in horror as Digit flew out to try to separate the pair, but Blade's hand shot out and sent the cybird spinning backwards through the air. Thankfully, Digit managed to right himself midair, and he landed on the ground in front of his friends.

"Well, I tried," he grumbled, patting his head to make sure his hat was still there. Inez smiled down at him, but only for a moment; she immediately turned her attention back to the fight as a scream was heard from one of them.

It was Blade who had screeched in fury, for Scythe had feinted left and kicked his side – hard. As the creature stumbled backwards for a minute, she was surprised to see that he showed no sign that he had been hurt, let alone felt the pain. His face was even – as even as it could be, anyway – and he did not reach towards his side like any human would have done.

_Then again, he isn't even human_, she reminded herself, watching anxiously as Crimson recovered far faster than expected, and ducked a swing Scythe aimed for him. The limp he had had earlier was no longer noticeable in the heat of battle; he came up from the half-crouched position and slammed a flat hand straight into the teenager's armour-covered chest with nearly all his strength.

In a split second, Inez saw Scythe, in turn, stumble backwards and fall forwards onto his knees, winded. The black-haired boy put a hand to his chest and drew in ragged breaths, glaring up at the murderous creature with the most poisonous of gazes.

Blade, wanting to finish him off while he was in a weakened state, sprang forwards to deliver a fatal blow when Scythe suddenly narrowed his eyes at a point somewhere past the creature, and a rock flew up to strike Crimson right in the back of the head.

Not even Blade had the self-control to stifle the howl he gave in surprise; he clutched the back of his head with two hands and winced. By this time, Scythe had recovered himself and leapt up, the white scars on his bare arms standing out more than ever as he clenched his fists and readied himself for the next onslaught.

It never came.

Hacker decided that the fight had gone on long enough; though he had been puzzled at the sudden appearance of this new teenager at first, he now knew that this person, whoever he was, was an ally of the Cybersquad – and therefore an enemy of his. However, it seemed that Scythe was more than he seemed, and the green cyborg's plan was to draw Crimson back and arrange themselves before commencing in battle again.

"Delete, Buzz," he snapped at his pair of henchmen, who had been watching the battle with awe, "Retrieve him."

Though they were as afraid of Blade as anyone else, Delete and Buzz ran out and grabbed Blade's arms, dragging him back to the Grim Wreaker. Surprised, Scythe stared as Crimson hissed and bucked in the two robots' arms, not able to fight both of them off, as the fight had weakened him.

"Make no mistake," he screamed, just before they had practically carried him inside. "You will get what you deserve! I will make sure you die slowly and painfully at my hands, you will -"

His voice was cut off as the door slammed behind Hacker, and the Wreaker lifted off and flew away at top speed, hull gleaming dull red in the light of the setting sun.

Jackie was checking to see if Slider was all right, after his almost-strangling. "I'm okay, Jackie," he said quietly, and, shrugging his pack back onto his shoulders, he smiled. "I have to go. Perhaps I'll see you around…" Then, nodding at her respectfully, the teenager walked off, disappeared into the horizon.

Shaking her head, the African-American watched him go, knowing that if she tried to convince him to stay, he would refuse. He had to look for his father, after all.

Meanwhile, Matt - after watching the ship disappear - ran over to Scythe and asked, concerned, "Are… are you okay?"

The teenager was still standing where he and Blade had been fighting, tensed, staring up into the sky, a distant expression on his face; when Matt spoke to him, however, his eyes flared suddenly, and he whirled to face the boy. For a moment, his wild eyes searched Matt's face without recognising him, then he shuddered, slumped, closed his eyes wearily.

"I apologise," he said softly, tiredly. "I forgot myself for a moment…"

"It's all right," Matt responded, looking even more concerned as Scythe opened his eyes, ran a hand through his black hair, and sighed; his eyes seemed faded, did not possess the same piercing quality as before. "Just as long as you're all right. Are you hurt?"

"No," Scythe said, even quieter than before. "Just tired…" He closed his eyes again, swayed a little on his feet. "Battles take a lot out of me…"

"Judging from that, it's no wonder," Inez said as she came to stand next to him. "You did a great job," she added.

Scythe did not reply; when he opened his eyes again, they were as dark as the sky above them. "Come," he said emotionlessly, turning in the direction of the cybercoupe. "Let us leave."

As they reached the coupe, Matt heard a soft sigh, coming from the black figure that walked silently beside him. He dared a glance at Scythe, but received no hint on what the teenager was thinking.

Scythe's expression was as blank and as cold as the surface of the cybercoupe.

-

It was hours later. Control Central was silent, the kind of silence that exists only in the pure darkness of the utter night, when there is no sound, all peace.

Jackie, Matt and Inez had decided not to go back to Earth, in case Crimson Blade and Hacker tried to attack another cybersite, and so the Cybersquad was now sleeping in Dr Marbles' workshop. Motherboard was in sleep mode, and even Dr Marbles himself had gone to bed.

Inez, lying awake in her spot on the floor, could hear only the sound of her companions' breathing as they slept. She, herself, had slept for a few hours, but she had been awoken by a nightmare. The girl had witnessed each of her friends' gruesome deaths, one by one, by Crimson's hands… even Scythe. It had been terrifying beyond belief; Inez shivered and sat up, drawing her arms around her knees as she stared around the room, trying to rid her thoughts of the images that had haunted her dreams.

Once the Hispanic girl's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she noticed that Scythe, who had been sitting in the corner, eyes closed, had disappeared. He had probably gone out to the main room; standing up carefully, trying to avoid tripping over Digit, Inez made her way to the doorway of the workshop.

A voice behind the girl made her jump violently, startled.

"What're you doing?" Jackie asked sleepily, from her position on the ground. Putting a hand to her chest, trying to slow her breathing down, Inez sighed with relief and said, "I'm just going out for a walk, Jax. You can go back to sleep; I won't be long."

The African-American nodded, yawning, and lay down again. Heart still beating rather fast, Inez walked out into the hallway, heading for Motherboard's main control room.

_I'd better not go walking straight in if he happens to be there_, she thought to herself. _He might want some time to himself, to think, after that fight today. I'll just check, and if he is,_ _I'll go back to the workshop._

Peering around the doorway, Inez at first saw nothing, until she saw a figure leaning against the controls, staring down at something in its hands. Because she had fairly good night vision, she could tell it was Scythe, helped by the faint light that came from the ceiling. _Why isn't he resting, after that battle?_ she wondered.

She was about to turn around and head back when his voice reached her ears in a softly spoken whisper. Narrowing her eyes in an effort to see better, Inez glimpsed a small knife that Scythe held in his right hand, that he then lowered to his left arm. Drawing the knife down his arm in a careful, deliberate way, the teenager continued to speak the words softly.

""_I amar prestar aen. Han mathon ne nen. Han mathon ne chae. A han nostron ned wilith_." Another long cut was drawn in the same way; a thin stream of blood moved slowly down his arm, and a small drop of the crimson liquid plopped onto the floor.

Scythe looked up sharply as a quiet voice came from the doorway.

"Why are you doing that?"

Inez walked slowly out of the shadows, regarding him calmly, without shock or distress. What was she doing up at this time? More importantly, what was she doing here?

Looking down at his arm for some kind of inspiration, the teenager found that he could not find an answer to her question. He glanced up at her again, light grey eyes glittering behind his glasses, and half-smiled, bitterly.

"I… don't know…" It was the only reply he could give.

Even with this limited answer, she seemed to accept this, and understand. Without further comment, Inez came over and leaned on the controls next to him. He seemed to belong to the enfolding darkness; close, yet so far away.

"Is it because of some kind of mental pain?" Somehow, she had managed to fit what he was feeling in just two words. _Mental pain_.

"Yes…" He studied the blade of the small knife, a depressed, melancholy expression on his face, the same one she had seen him wear when she first saw him, alone with his two… whatever they were, below the Northern Frontier.

"Can I ask you why?" Inez was still looking at him; he didn't dare to look up again, lost in deep thought.

"I… I cannot tell you," Scythe finally responded quietly, knowing that he would never be able to put that into words. To give those events voice would somehow demean them, take away their terrible horror, their terrible beauty.

Again, Inez seemed to accept his response, and changed the subject, to his immense relief. Undoubtedly not particularly wanting to linger on those memories.

"What do you think is going to happen to us?" Inez asked softly, her mind full of questions, possessing no answers to them. Somehow, she knew that only he could give her those answers.

She saw his eyes flash with sudden emotion; he shifted his position slightly, as if the subject itself stirred him to action. "I do not know what fate lies before us. No one knows their destiny. I suspect only one thing: our destiny will be revealed to us when the sun sets its last. And, although I detest admitting it, little hope remains in my heart."

"How can you know that?"

"I don't. I merely suspect."

Inez was silent for another few moments, then, finding another question had come to her, said, "You say you are evil… yet you are fighting for us. Your reasons for that… I can't guess…"

"I'm fighting for good because the evil present in this world will cause death, destruction, horror. I have witnessed, and, I admit, caused all three of those before, but now I cannot allow that to happen in this form. Some may call me a lesser of two evils, but I _do_ care about what happens here. I live here, after all." Sighing deeply, Scythe placed the knife back into its sheath and clasped it almost protectively in his hand.

There was a small silence before he picked up the arm-guard that lay on the controls behind them and fit it on, almost as if trying to cover the cuts he had made. She could see that the blood had already dried on his arm, before it disappeared from view. The grim sight seemed to inspire her next words.

"There is hope in the world, Scythe. I have already told you this once. I will continue telling you."

The gleam in his eyes flared again with passion as he stared at her, almost fixedly; his voice rose in volume as he spoke in a sudden tirade:

"What hope will there be, when Morgoth Bauglir, He Who Arises In Might, returns to the Earth to claim what is his? When the sky forever darkens and blackness rules the world? When the foolishness of Men causes them to be destroyed by the Dark Lord? **WHAT THEN!**"

Gloved hands clenched tightly on the knife he held, Scythe suddenly took a shuddering breath, seemed to calm down before continuing softly, brokenly, light grey eyes still fixed on hers:

"No, no… there is no hope. Hope has failed us. Despair is all that is left." Scythe then lowered his gaze to the floor, and was still, merging back into the darkness from whence he came. The grey eyes faded into the shadows, their intensity dimmed.

"Despair is only a small part of this world. Hope has not failed us. It will never fail us… " Inez's voice spoke quietly, serenely. "I… only wish you could see that…"

He heard the rustle of small movement, thought nothing of it; as he lifted his head reluctantly, Scythe saw that Inez had, in fact, moved closer. Taking his black-clothed hand, she uncurled his fingers from the knife without shifting her gaze from his face, and lifted it from his palm.

"Perhaps this is what blinds you," she said, and placed it on the control panel. Then she let go of his hand, and slowly, he let it return to his side.

There was another stretch of silence, in which they just stared at each other wordlessly. Before he could say anything else, however, Inez had moved even closer, and her mouth was suddenly on his. Reacting to this, despite his emotionless demeanour, Scythe was electrically aware of the soft lips touching his, the cool, brown eyes that looked at him calmly.

More than a little surprised - and showing it for once - he stared at the girl incredulously as Inez broke away and averted her face for a moment, trying to control the red tinge that had appeared on her cheeks.

At length, he swallowed. Found his voice. "What was that for?"

Inez shrugged, smiled, slightly nervously. "You needed convincing that not all is darkness and despair," she responded, in that same, quiet tone. Clearing her throat, she rapidly changed the subject again.

"Why aren't you resting? You look pretty exhausted."

Scythe smiled wearily, did not answer. He did not need to; she saw the answer in his eyes.

"You… can't?"

The teenager shook his head. "I cannot," he finally spoke, now able to use his voice properly, "because they won't let me…"

"Who won't let you?" Inez asked urgently, softly, suddenly concerned more than ever. "What won't let you?"

"Memories of things long past… nightmares of crimes I can't forget…" Scythe whispered, almost inaudibly, staring off into space, eyes as dark as the room itself. He seemed to go still, hardly breathing, as if lost in something that deeply troubled him.

"Scythe…" Inez placed a hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to break the trance the teenager had gone into. He did not respond, only continued to stare into the darkness, motionless, silent. "Scythe…" She shook his shoulder gently.

With this prompt, the dimmed eyes came to life once more; Scythe sighed, let his head fall forwards onto his chest. After a few moments, in which Inez looked worriedly at him, he raised it, looked straight at her with that returned piercing gaze. "I'm sorry, Inez. I could not help but remember…" He stopped. "It won't happen again."

"It's okay, Scythe," Inez spoke quietly. "Think nothing of it."

Again, a small silence, until the Hispanic girl spoke again. Scythe seemed to have overcome his weariness for the moment; he gazed at her more alertly, waiting for her next statement.

"I - I'm a little afraid about our next encounter with… with that creature," Inez finally admitted. "He is unusually powerful…"

"I apologise for this, but you have good reason to fear him," Scythe replied darkly. "Defeating him will not be an easy task."

"Yes, I know… our next encounter will probably be our last meeting, our final battle. I realise that now. There will never be another chance. He would not be so foolish as to give us another opportunity, unless he has changed much over the years."

"If we allow his evil to spread, it will infect Cyberspace like a disease… but - " Scythe shrugged, his eyes on her, " – either way, we will face him sometime…" Reaching out, he picked up his knife, grasped it firmly. Inez did not try to stop the teenager, only stared at him with a slightly saddened look.

"I had better get some sleep," she said softly, and, giving him a last unhappy glance, left the control room. She could feel his grey eyes watching her steadily, emotionlessly. The mask had returned.

-

"It could have been settled right there!" Crimson Blade screamed at Hacker in a fury. Even many hours after the battle with Scythe – it was early morning – the creature was still raging about it. "I could have killed them all!"

"I disagree with that one," the green cyborg snorted. "That boy, whoever he was, looked like he could have beaten you."

"Nothing can beat me," Blade replied, annoyed. "My strength is too great. Besides, _Scythe_ is only a mere mortal. I, however, am quite the opposite." He huffed in irritation, folded his mismatched arms.

"My dear Blade, if it wasn't for me you would have been soundly defeated out there. That friend of those meddling Earth kiddies is _good_. Better than good."

"I will not believe it," Crimson responded, and emitted a small sound of frustration as he glared out the window at the growing light.

"You know it's true," Hacker said smugly, and walked from the room in search of Buzz and Delete, hoping (in vain) that they might actually finish their job of ordering the computer files…

Blade continued to stare moodily out at the lightening landscape of the Northern Frontier, thoughts of the earlier battle invading any hope of peace, if he had wished it.

"I cannot be weak…" he murmured, now looking down at his hands as though they might suddenly become mortal flesh. "I was never meant to be weak… this body is supposed to be the ultimate killing machine… and now a boy, a teenage boy, almost defeats me in battle!"

Realisation dawned upon the creature almost immediately after he had spoken the last few words; he had admitted that he had almost been beaten. _Then again, he almost defeated me before…_

"No… no, this is not right," he said finally, folding his arms and listening to the distant sound of Hacker yelling at Buzz and Delete. "Why am I doomed to live like this? Why fight on? Why, indeed…" He fell silent, thinking.

"Stop it, Blade," Crimson suddenly said loudly to himself, breaking out of the stupor he had dug himself into. "That Earth-boy Matthew, as well as his ally Scythe, needs to be broken, both in spirit and body.

"And only I shall complete that task," he sighed, half-closing his scarlet eyes as he pondered the situation. "I _can_ defeat them. I _can_ murder them. I _will_ break them.

"As for the other citizens of Cyberspace who caused me pain, I will set my thoughts of them aside until I have beaten the Cybersquad. Motherboard retains no importance to me… but what if I destroyed Dr Marbles, for all the help he has rendered the Cybersquad? Therefore that supercomputer would be helpless.

"Then would come the cyborg Hacker. He can intelligent at times, but also surprisingly stupid for one so evil. Yet even he would not miss the chance to take over Cyberspace through Motherboard's weakness. With Dr Marbles, the cyber bird Digit, and the Cybersquad gone, nothing would stop him. Cyberspace would forever be cloaked in shadow. All debts will be paid to the ones who deserve them, all revenge fulfilled."

For a time he stood there, eyes narrowed in concentration as he thought of all the possibilities that could come to pass.

"What if I lost? What if I… no, I dare not think of that. There is only one thing to do, to settle this score once and for all. I know I am strong enough… The time has come."

Walking over to the computer controls, Blade set his mismatched fingers on the keyboard panel and began to type.


	11. Reflections

FINAL DESTINATIONS

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Um… yeah. This chapter is really just a run-up to The Final Battle: Part I. It took me so long to finish it because I had a rather bad attack of writers' block, but it's okay now. (I hope…)

**!Warning:** Fluff ahead.

**Re-edit notes:** Whoo-hoo. Four more chapters to go. The fluffness scene is also edited here.

Heh. What a craptacular start to the chapter (see opening sentence).

Chapter 11: Reflections 

Matt awoke with a start. "What the - "

Jackie was standing over him, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. "Finally, Matt," she sighed in desperation. "Sure you slept deep enough?"

"Oh, ha, ha," the red-haired boy muttered, sitting up, trying to clear his brain of any remaining sleepiness. "Very funny, Jax."

The African-American girl snorted. "You'd better hurry up. We got something from Crimson Blade that might interest you." With that parting comment, she ran out of the room.

That was enough to get Matt up and running after her. "Why the heck didn't you tell me?" he yelled ahead, but she ignored his question and continued. As the pair skidded into Motherboard's main room, panting, Inez looked up from the piece of paper she was reading.

"About time, Matt," she teased, before becoming serious again and holding the paper out to him. "I suggest you read this."

Puzzled, Matt took it and leaned back against the wall. It read:

_To the Cybersquad and Scythe._

_I have come to the realisation that it is time for the Final Battle; time for us to end this. I need to extract my revenge on each and every one of you, as you, in turn, need to stop me from killing your precious Matt, among others._

_So many hurts, so much emotion… all for this dance of revenge and justice in which we are all choreographed. Now is the last chance to resolve this. If you truly care what happens to Cyberspace, then you will be at the Northern Frontier, at sundown, for the Final Battle._

_What am I talking about, you are thinking? I am telling you that if you lose, all of Cyberspace will then be covered in darkness. For if I succeed, and destroy each and every one of you – and I warn you, this is extremely likely to come to pass – then I will continue on to Dr Marbles. And then Motherboard will be defenceless. Hacker will "go forth and conquer", as I believe you hapless mortals say, and no one will be able to stop him. Therefore, he will rule all of Cyberspace. And therefore my revenge will be complete. The ones who deserve such a punishment will receive it._

_So I suggest you make an appearance. This is your final chance for victory in the fairest possible way I can allow. If you do not turn up, I will then simply come to you. Do not bother trying to prevent your deaths. It is enough that I have planned sufficiently to ensure it._

_Hacker will not be involved in this battle, as I know that this final chance is between you and me._

_-- Crimson Blade._

"I can't believe him!" Matt burst out angrily, as he thrust the letter back at Inez. "Does he really think that we're going to fall for this new trick of his?"

Silence met his ears; the rest of the group stared back at him wordlessly. Finally, Inez spoke, "Matt… we all believe that this is the best thing we can do." Scythe nodded from his position beside her, while the others also looked agreeing.

"Okay, now I can't believe _you_." The eleven-year-old was unable to take in his friends' decision. "We can't trust him! He's evil!"

"That's what you said when you first met me," Scythe responded quietly, his voice echoing in the large room. Digit flew down from his hovering and landed on the table, looking at Matt expectantly for an answer.

The boy couldn't find anything to say to counter the statement; after a few minutes of silence and racking his brain, he finally turned his back to them and said, defeated, "Fine. I guess it is the best we can do. Better than him coming to us, I suppose."

"So it's settled," Inez said in confirmation, staring around at the group. "At sundown… we go and fight…"

-

Jackie sat alone in a corner of Dr Marbles' workshop, arms clasped around her knees, staring at the ground.

_I wish Crimson Blade hadn't ever existed_, she found herself musing, and frowned slightly as the next thought came to her. _But then again… so much couldn't have happened without him. We would never have known Scythe, for one thing. _

The African-American smiled slightly as she thought of the black-haired teenager. Slider could have been choked to death, like Matt almost had been, if it wasn't for Scythe. But Matt himself had almost been murdered again, that time. If Scythe hadn't beaten Crimson off her friend, he would most likely be lying on the ground at R-Fair City, ripped to pieces by Blade.

_Maybe we would have found his labyrinth some other time._ Jackie leaned her head back against the smooth wall, and sighed. _Maybe not._

_I wonder what he'll do if we win?_

Another question occurred to her, and Jackie then sat up straight, pondering their situation carefully.

_I think he'll return to the Northern Frontier. The only person he seems remotely close to is Inez, maybe Matt too. Not really the rest of us. He still seems slightly evil… though not as much as when I first met him…_ She shuddered at the memory of her encounter with the bats.

_We're no good at physical fighting, anyway._ Jackie shivered again. _Scythe is the only one of us who can battle properly. And if that's what counts in this fight, then we're all doomed…_

-

Matt stood in the main control room, staring up at Motherboard's screen. After this had gone on for over ten minutes, the supercomputer asked what was wrong, guessing already what it might be. The boy simply replied:

"This may be the last time I see you, Motherboard." He sighed, looked down at his feet, then shrugged his shoulders. "I think I may have made the wrong decision."

"You have made - what would seem - wrong decisions before." Static filled the screen for a few seconds, then her familiar face returned. "Yet everything has - always turned - out right in the end."

"Thanks, Mother-B," Matt responded, smiling sadly. "But Crimson Blade is a well-practiced killer. I just can't see us defeating him in combat, as you might call it."

Motherboard did not reply, only smiled, herself, in answer to the despondent statement. A few minutes passed, then she said, "I believe you - will defeat him, Matt. All you - have to do is - believe."

The eleven-year-old flashed her another of those unhappy smiles.

"I'll remember those words at sundown," was all he said, and patted the controls almost fondly, then wandered off, lost in his own thoughts…

-

Digit shivered convulsively.

The cybird was looking at the door of the very same freezer he had freed Inez, Jackie and Dr Marbles from. They could have been frozen to death, thanks to the immense cruelty of Crimson Blade. At the thought of the unbelievably heartless creature, however, he shuddered again.

_I should be more hopeful_, he said to himself, in his mind. _I have to… ah, forget it._ Heaving a great sigh, Digit then turned his back to the freezer door and leant against it. The cool metal met his own metallic surface with a chill only freezing temperatures – or, more accurately, fear – could generate, but the robotic bird did not flinch away.

_I'm gonna die_, he realised. _I am going to die_. _He's going to kill me._ Images of Matt being strangled, Blade trying to kill Slider, Scythe's intervention… all of them invaded his brain like… like what?

_Well, like Hacker on Control Central_, Digit then thought, allowing himself a small chuckle at the joke. He then shook his head and smiled, suddenly feeling much more cheerful. _What am I worrying about?_ the bird then berated himself. _I think it's better to go into this thing cheerful than down in the dumps._

Still grinning slightly to himself, Digit then pushed himself off the freezer door, and headed out of the room, leaving all doubts and worries behind him.

-

Scythe sauntered along the hallway with a seemingly casual air, but in truth, his mind was in turmoil. Thoughts crowded in his head, like Digit's had, images of events that had occurred from both his past and present. However, it was the ones of Crimson Blade that came foremost in his mind.

The protective covering of black armour clinked quietly in the silence of the corridor, echoing off the wiring that lined the walls in angular array, as he lifted the arm-guard and stared at the freshly made cuts sliced into his arm, alongside the fully healed, white-tinged scars of the same causing.

"This is the price for my deeds," he murmured. "And so, this time, I shall go into the fight with hope in my heart. Indeed, hope can be a good thing, rather than the forever darkness that even now clouds my soul in its endless depths. How can I escape from it? Will I ever be free?

"… No. I will never be free. And though dark's strange, cold beauty lures me, the light also calls me with a purer, heavenly beauty of its own. Caught between the two, I lean towards the darkness. Slowly it pulls me back in, back into the depths that will eventually swallow all. Nothing can save me from that fate yet.

"And Crimson Blade? Though we well know each other from one of his previous lives, he knows me not in full. Neither I know him as well I should. But still I will fight on. For Cyberspace. For Motherboard. For these people who have come to me in their time of need. How can I refuse such a request? How can I let them stand alone? There is little ability in this close-knit group of the physical combat kind, and only I may aid them."

Scythe was about to continue his musing when his sharp hearing picked up a small sound that came from just around the corner. As the teenager quickened his pace and turned it, he caught sight of a small figure, pressed back against the wall.

"Inez?" he spoke aloud, wondering what in Cyberspace was she doing here…

Her face turned to him, blank of expression, blank of feeling. Tear tracks made their ponderous way down her cheeks, shining like starlight; the girl gave another small choking noise as she caught sight of him, but did not try to wipe the tears from her face.

It seemed that the calm and collected personage she had always shown when around him was now gone in the face of fear, replaced by someone who had searched for hope and found none.

Knowing and yet not knowing, Scythe stepped forwards and put his arms around her, comforting, dispelling the fears that had accumulated around her, though he himself had never been comforted by anyone but Inez. So peace stole over them both, standing there in the corridor, never saying a word, just in each other's arms.

Finally Scythe drew back from Inez and regarded her seriously.

"What is the cause of your sadness?" he asked, in his quiet, emotionless voice, though he knew it was a ludicrous question, for already he knew the answer. Almost soundlessly, he whispered under his breath, "_Go vegil tolo hi_

_Egor iriel firi_

_'Ni men hen u veth 'war_."

Without warning, Inez's head jerked up. Grabbing his uneven shoulders, her eyes burning into his calm ones, she said fiercely, "Scythe. I am going to die. We are all going to die. We can't defeat Crimson Blade. None of us know how to fight, except for you." Her final-sounding tone almost chilled him with its certainty; little did he know that all of the Cybersquad were feeling something like this at the moment…

"No, you will not die – not if I can help it. Crimson Blade is the only one who will face death in this battle." Scythe reached up to his unbalanced shoulders, and grasped Inez's hands in his. "I will fight for you. For all of you."

"And then?" The question she gave him next was unexpected, caught him off guard. Her face was now dry of all tears; searching his expression with her own penetrating gaze, Inez waited for an answer.

"I will most likely return to my labyrinth, and Dasariah and Vil."

"Why do you feel such loyalty to them? When they are so obviously…"

"Evil? Cruel, even?"

"Well… yes…"

He laughed softly, mirthlessly. "It is difficult to explain. I am bound to them, as they are bound to me. There are other things, things that run deep, things that I cannot put into words… that is the only description I can give."

"You're full of mysteries, aren't you, Scythe?" Inez asked quietly, glancing up at him.

The teenager's only answer was a mysterious smile, although it was the first time Inez had seen him smile properly since she had met him.

Still wearing the same smile – he had a very attractive smile, she noted - Scythe drew closer to Inez, at which the girl didn't even move, obviously content with the situation. Putting a finger under her chin, he then bent even closer and tilted his head slightly so their lips met.

The kiss lasted for a few moments before the black-haired teenager finally drew away.

"Thankyou," Inez said sincerely, brown eyes warm.

"For what, may I ask?"

"For doing what I tried to do last night. For giving me hope."

"Then is my debt repaid…?"

He was actually making a small joke! A little confused at this sudden change of personality, Inez shrugged and patted his shoulder in mock disappointment. "I suppose so…"

Scythe's expression became serious, slightly sorrowful, like it had been back in the labyrinth. "You must remember that I am still evil, Inez… or twilight."

"I know."

"And that I have done terrible deeds in the past, of such multitude and description that you would turn your face from me in horror if you knew."

"I would not turn my face from you, no matter what your past contained."

With the slightly saddened look still on his face, Scythe then bent to kiss her again. This time, he let his lips linger for a while, and as he raised his head again, Inez sighed, drew closer, and leaned her head on his armour-plated chest, her mind full of speculation, waiting for sunset to come.

-

The entire Cybersquad stood in a row in Motherboard's main room. It was a few minutes before sunset. Each one's mind was racing, each one trembling with expectancy as they waited for Motherboard to generate a portal.

Turning to Matt, Scythe held out something that was sheathed in leather, something that glittered in the faint light. "Here," he said. "I want you to have this." As Matt glanced curiously at the teenager's face, then took it from his palm, Scythe breathed a small sigh and let his arm fall. "This may come of use sometime," he said finally, and said no more, directing his attention back to Dr Marbles. Matt's eyes widened as he realised what it was, then slid the knife into his pocket carefully.

"Digit… are you scared?" Jackie whispered, looking anxiously down at the nervous cybird. He grinned briefly, but the comforting smile soon faded from his face.

"Yeah," he responded, just as quietly. "Yeah, I am."

The African-American girl glanced up to see Scythe watching them; obviously he had heard the small exchange. A sad smile lit his face, and the young man whispered a few words suddenly; their companions all looked at him, surprised.

"The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass...and then you see it. White shores, and beyond a far green country under a swift sunrise…"

None of the Cybersquad knew what he meant; Matt looked at Scythe oddly and was met with another sad smile, before it was replaced by the teenager's usual melancholy, calm expression. Inez was the exception; she stared at Scythe for a few moments, her eyes dark with concern, then shook her head and sighed. She knew what it meant.

When the pink, sparkling doorway to the Northern Frontier appeared in front of them, Dr Marbles walked away from the controls and smiled at them.

"I'd just like you all to know," he said, in his somewhat high voice, "that Motherboard and I know you will do us proud. Good luck, Cybersquad."

Inez glanced at Scythe sideways; the teenager had an expression on his face that suggested conflict. Idly, she guessed that it was because he had been named as one of them.

Matt looked at Inez, guessed, also, why Scythe was suddenly looking a little uncomfortable, and heaved a sigh. Shrugging, the red-haired boy set his shoulders and smiled nervously at his companions. "Well… here goes." With this final statement, Matt walked towards the portal and leapt in, disappearing from sight in a multitude of pink-purple sparkles.

Digit followed after, looking a bit nervous himself, then Jackie, then Inez, and, at last, Scythe. The last thing Motherboard and Dr Marbles saw of the group was the teenager glancing back at them, a strange expression on his face. Some might have thought it was longing; others might have thought he was giving them a final farewell. They were never to know the answer.

Silently, the supercomputer and the cyborg watched the glittering portal sputter and, at last, disappear into empty space.


	12. The Final Battle: Part I

**FINAL DESTINATIONS**

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Dudes and dudettes, I would like to welcome you to the Final Battle. I'm not very proficient in the creation of fight scenes, however, and on that point, I would ask you to forgive me.

However, enough with my mindless talk. On with the battle!

**Chapter 12: The Final Battle: Part I**

The desolate landscape of the Northern Frontier lay silent, lit by the glow of the setting sun that threw everything into an eerie, blood-red cast. An omen? Many of the superstitious would have thought so.

Even as the binary-coded clouds faded into stars, Crimson bade farewell to the Hacker.

It was a bitter parting at first that occurred between the two evil beings. Hacker, believing that Blade was abandoning him to seek his own fate, had yelled at him furiously, actually daring to lose his temper at the creature who could have quite easily caused his end.

That is, he was furious until he heard Crimson Blade's plan.

The creature had informed Hacker that, in fact, he was not 'abandoning' the cyborg, but merely "fighting the main part of the battle".

"I require your services once more…" Crimson had said, in a low voice that had chilled the eavesdropping Buzz and Delete to the bone. Of course, Hacker had readily agreed, for what Blade had asked him to do was very much in his department.

And so, the evil genius and the creature of darkness had parted.

The Cybersquad landed at the Northern Frontier a few minutes before sundown, when the light had darkened to a deeper scarlet. The wind that scattered the dust over the land blew gently in each of their faces, filled with an odd sense of foreboding.

No one spoke a word as they waited uneasily for Crimson Blade to arrive. The possibility occurred to Matt that maybe Crimson was already there. That maybe he was watching them right now: if he could shape-shift, then surely he could become invisible…

Now suspicious, the boy glanced around surreptitiously, surveying the landscape with a critical eye. Nothing. Just red-tinted rocks, red-tinted sky, a red-tinted figure…

A red-tinted figure.

Jerked into action, Matt grabbed Jackie and Inez's arm, while Digit flew in a nervous circle above their heads. "Jax… Nezzie…" he said in a low voice. "Here he comes."

Digit nearly fell from the sky in his concerned state. "What do we do, Mattie?" he asked shakily, after successfully regaining his balance.

The boy did not reply. He squinted into the distance, where the figure was making its way towards the group, gilded by the setting sun. Though its features were not visible, a sense of incredible evil beamed from it, causing Matt to shiver involuntarily. That was how he knew who it was. No other being – not even Hacker – emanated that kind of spine-chilling, unreasonable evil, except for Crimson Blade.

Scythe stood a little away from the group, face intentionally blank as he watched Crimson Blade draw closer. In that moment, however, the fear-inspiring creature dissolved like sand in an hourglass – obviously a ploy to cause more fear in the group. Still, the teenager watched unconcernedly – albeit carefully – as Matt jumped backwards in surprise, away from the group, as if he had been bitten by a snake.

Seeing that Scythe seemed fairly calm about the disappearance, the redhead collected himself once more. "We'll let him play his games," he said to his companions, even managing to sound hard and uncaring. "He brought us here for a reason other than to scare us to death." (Digit looked somewhat doubtful at this comment.)

Unfortunately, the boy failed to notice that Blade had reformed behind him, and had a furious scowl on his face at his words; his friends had no time to warn him before the creature struck. A lavender-coloured hand slipped deftly around Matt's neck, jerking him backwards. Recognising Crimson Blade's iron grip, he struggled (in vain), but the arm only tightened further.

"Games, Matthew?" Blade whispered maliciously, blood-red eyes flaring dangerously in his madness. "I play no games, you snivelling excuse for a mortal. This is serious. _Deadly_ serious."

"If this serious, then you'd let go of my neck and talk to us properly," Matt responded heatedly. The arm loosened its grip for a moment, but regained its hold after brief consideration.

"Ah, weak human boy. You try to escape my clutches once again. But I will not release you. Not quite yet."

"Leave him be, Huor Melwasúl." Scythe spoke so quietly that Matt had to strain to hear him. Crimson Blade flinched at the second repetition of his Elvish name; the arm spasmed suddenly. "Your fight is not only with him. It is also with I, master of the labyrinth, as well as the Cybersquad." The last word left his lips reluctantly; he refused to consider himself as part of it.

Blade smirked. "You know nothing, Scythe," he said loudly, his old arrogance showing through the more composed mask he had worn ever since his return. "You are mortal, like these… children. And even so, you are a mere adolescent! If your armor is weak – and I speak not of the armor you wear – I will make sure it breaks…"

"What of you, Crimson Blade?" Scythe responded in the same calm voice. "What about your own armor, your own mask? For surely, after all these lives, all these years, it has been scratched and battered, cracked and ravaged by your own suffering and pain. Do not speak to me of breaking my mind, creature of evil. I am not weak."

Crimson spat bitterly on the dusty ground. "Bah!" he said grimly. "I refuse to take heed of a mortal's words. I spoke to you of fairness. I spoke to you of our final meeting. So it shall come to pass, this final battle." And he shoved Matt away from him in disgust.

Stumbling forwards in surprise, Matt quickly recovered and whirled around, not trusting Blade for a moment.

"What do you want to do about this?" he asked harshly, facing the creature boldly, not daring to show any fear. Both Inez and Jackie thought it was rather wasted on Crimson Blade: he thought all of them were weak no matter how brave they appeared or sounded.

"I propose…" Crimson trailed off, considering with relish the worst possible tortures he could come up with. "I propose…" The creature trailed off once more. _Better to cause distraction and unease before I make my real move_, he thought malignantly to himself. Without formulating an answer aloud, he swiftly and suddenly went for Jackie – the closest person standing near him.

In reality, it was the only way he could truly answer.

His metallic wingtips that formed his cybird arm dug into hers, drawing blood; unfortunately for Crimson, however, he misjudged the distance and slightly overshot the girl, letting go of her as he landed on his stomach behind the group. Making no sound of pain, least of all showing it, Blade immediately leapt up and dived for Jackie again, who backed away but was unable to evade the swift creature. This time, he managed to pin the girl against the ground, one knee on her chest, both mismatched hands grasping her wrists.

The rest of the group stared, hardly daring to move. Finally, Matt stepped forwards and yelled furiously, "Get your hands off my friend!" Gritting his teeth against the rage that was forcing its way up his throat, the boy clenched his fists, preparing to fight Crimson Blade if it was necessary.

It wasn't, as of yet; Crimson merely laughed at this show of bravado, ignored Matt, and brought his mouth right next to Jackie's ear to whisper: "You're the lucky one today, mortal girl, because you are going to meet your end first… you won't get to see your friends suffer…"

Jackie glared up at Blade with a look of pure, total hatred. Enough was enough; blood was running down her wrists and arms from the creature's lethal grip. There was only one thing to do at a time like this.

Steeling herself, Jackie brought her head forwards with about as much strength as she could muster, headbutting Crimson Blade so hard that he jerked back in sudden pain and – involuntarily – released her wrists. Trembling with anger, Jackie struggled to her feet and stumbled backwards, a little dizzy from getting up so rapidly. Digit, sensing that the African-American girl was in one of her angry moods, tugged at the hem of her skirt, pulling her back to their companions.

"Come on, Jackie," he panted, still trying to get her full attention, "Don't do anythin' you'll regret later… we'll just go back to Inez an' Mattie now…"

Still fixing Blade (who had recovered, or so it seemed – he was still rubbing his head absently, muttering about the insolence of mortal children) with a dangerous stare, Jackie finally turned to Digit and said, "It's all right, Didge. I'm coming." But she still fervently wished she could get the twisted creature back for attacking her…

"It seems we have come to a stalemate," Blade declared arrogantly, surveying the group triumphantly. "You dare not attack me. I dare not attack you all at once, nor individually. Therefore… I challenge the boy Matthew, who caused all this, to fight me alone. That means no outside help." He gave a meaningful look at Scythe.

Matt paled slightly and swallowed, hard; Inez, Jackie and Digit began to argue against Crimson Blade's request. Scythe, however, watched all of this from the back of the group, the cold wind ruffling his black hair. He could guess what would happen. He could not allow that future to take place. He could not allow this evil to dominate.

Scythe stepped forwards. "Jackie, Inez and Digit," he said expressionlessly, glancing at the trio with his icy, grey eyes. "I believe that Matthew is required to state his own opinion on the matter."

The three fell silent, exchanged looks, and nodded, falling back to stand behind the young man. Matt took a deep breath and let it out, slowly. He knew what he had to do. Perhaps he had known it all along.

"My friends," he spoke, almost as softly as Scythe himself, "I am going to fight him. Alone."

Crimson Blade's face broke into an ugly grin that was more like a grimace. Jackie, the blood on her arms still trickling slowly down, looked like she was about to say something, but upon second thought, she closed her mouth resolutely, her face the picture of concern. Digit shifted from foot to foot, trying to tell Matt with his eyes that he absolutely could not do this. Inez, however, stared at the red-haired boy and inclined her head in acknowledgement of his decision. She understood completely.

As Matt passed Scythe, he could have sworn that the teenager gave him a look that was also filled with understanding, but when he blinked and looked back again, Scythe was staring off into the distance, a familiar expression of faint but unending sadness on his face.

At length, the boy heaved a sigh and came to a stop in front of Crimson Blade.

"Let it begin," he said.

---

Jackie had begun to shiver in the slightly freezing wind that now blew steadily over the Northern Frontier. The blood dried rapidly on her arms, but was soon replaced by fresh blood. The long, deep cuts on her upper arms did not cease to bleed; something kept the wounds open, would not allow them to heal.

Still trembling, the African-American sat down on the ground and closed her eyes wearily, trying not to think of what was going to happen to Matt. As of yet, the sounds of battle were not heard – obviously, they had not began fighting – but she could still hear Crimson Blade's sardonic voice taunting her friend, words weaving around his opponent like a poisonous snake, constricting moment, strangling thought.

Suddenly, upon opening her eyes, Jackie saw Matt glance up, past Crimson Blade, who stood with unfailing confidence, grinning that hideous grimace. Directing her gaze to where the red-haired boy was looking, she gasped and started to get to her feet to do something to help –

- when the Grim Wreaker dived from the now-dark sky, so close to the ground that Matt had to throw himself backwards to remove himself from its path. Blade had dodged nimbly out of the way, but seeing that his enemy's attention was distracted, his scarlet eyes began to burn with the prospect of battle, and he bounded forwards. Dealing a hard kick to the boy's ribs, at which Matt choked in pain and staggered backwards, Crimson followed it with another kick, this time to Matt's chest.

The Grim Wreaker came around for another pass, and Scythe followed the black-and-green ship with a stare full of hatred. He took no heed of the battle in front of him, nor the frightened gasps of the others behind him, but in a split second had decided that Hacker desperately needed some of the stuffing knocked out of him.

Concentrating, he directed his mind below, to the winding passages of his labyrinth, to the darkness that lay there, to the underground lakes, to the unspeakable horrors, to the cavern where he resided. Blade, looking up from his battle, saw Scythe and recognized the expression of total concentration. His mouth formed a soundless scream of rage, his eyes flamed, but he did not dare to disengage from this essential fight. Not when he was winning.

Matt stood before him, blood trickling from a shredded sleeve where Blade had scratched it deeply with his metal wing. He bore a slight limp, the knees of his jeans were torn; a cut had been sliced down the side of his face from when he had fallen onto a sharp rock, after Crimson kicked him in the chest.

In answer to the silent screech of Blade's, Scythe turned his thoughts inwards, and smiled a mocking smile at the evil creature, although it was still rather tinged with a faint sadness.

---Dasariah, Vil,--- he thought in his mind. ---Your aid is needed.---

Beneath the surface, both the Kothos heard the unspoken words echoing in their heads, and immediately ran for the nearest tunnel in haste.

---We hear your words and obey, Master,--- Dasariah sent back.

The Grim Wreaker plummeted downwards once more, heading straight for the unsteady figure of Matt, who was struggling to keep himself on his feet.

At that moment, lightning shot out from a place that no one could see, and struck the massive ship, followed by another blast that set a part of it alight, as well as sending it flying uncontrollably, at top speed, in the opposite direction. Within a few seconds, the Grim Wreaker had disappeared over the dark horizon.

---Thankyou, Kothos,--- Scythe said silently, even grinning a little as he thought of Hacker's panic, as well as Buzz's and Delete's. He bore no more love for the two slow-minded robots than for the hated green cyborg.

---Your thanks are not needed,--- VKothos replied. ---Both of us enjoyed seeing that ship burn.---

DKothos interrupted his vicious companion with, ---Do you require any more of our help, Master?---

The teenager could imagine his servant cracking his knuckles loudly as he said this, and shook his head.

---No, Dasariah. This battle must be won by us alone…--- Scythe stopped speaking as he realized he had included himself as one of the group. ---You may return to the labyrinth,--- he addded quietly.

---Farewell, Master,--- VKothos responded, echoed by DKothos.

Scythe snapped out of his reverie as he heard a cry of pain coming from the battle that had been proceeding the entire time, and sought to find who had cried out.

Blade stood in front of Matt, who was on his knees, staring up at the creature with a look of passionate hatred so alike to Scythe's. He was splattered in blood, mostly his own, while Blade merely sported a few small cuts. Crimson had just raised his fist to deal another telling blow, one that would most likely render Matt unconscious.

The raven-haired young man strode forwards to halt this mindless violence, but Blade saw him coming and let the blow fall swiftly, grinning smugly at his triumph. His fist connected with the side of Matt's face… and the red-haired boy finally fell back, collapsed to the ground, unconscious, unmoving. His blood mingled with the dust and the dirt upon which he lay.

A yell of fury sounded from behind Scythe, a strangled yell that was so loud he whipped around to face the source in shock.

Inez stood in front of Digit and the now also unconscious Jackie, hands clenched into fists. "Stop it!" she shouted angrily. "Haven't you caused enough suffering? Why do you have to keep hurting us, again and again and again?"

Crimson Blade leered. "For that, all of you will suffer more than I had originally intended." He pointed down at Matt. "I will leave him to die, his only company your dying corpses. So you shall witness his death. So he will witness yours."

The Hispanic girl made no reply, only ran towards the evil creature with the full intent of fighting him. It did not matter that she would probably die in the attempt. The only thing that mattered now was that she made a difference. As Inez brushed past Scythe, the teenager reached out and grasped her arm, halting her mad flight.

Inez turned and looked at him, her gaze clear, but yet burned with an inner fire. At that single, piercing glance, Scythe let his hand slip off of her arm. He would always remember her words, that day.

"What has to be done, must be done," Inez said grimly. And she walked with firm resolve towards certain doom.


	13. The Final Battle: Part II

**FINAL DESTINATIONS**

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** The second half of the Final Battle. I hope it's up to expectations.

–watches anxiously-

**Chapter 13: The Final Battle: Part II**

Crimson Blade's head shot up as he saw Inez halt in front of him. "What is this, mortal?" he hissed. "You know you cannot possibly defeat me!"

"No," Inez responded defiantly. "But I can take my own revenge on you, at least."

Stepping forwards calmly and confidently, Blade shoved her backwards, and the girl stumbled, but, regardless, managed to keep her feet.

"What about Hacker?" she demanded, in an attempt to buy time – but for what…? Crimson recognized the ploy, yet he still replied, if not to buy time for himself as well, but to cause more loathing and more fear.

"Why should I care about that dense, thick-headed, facile, irrational cretin of a cyborg? He matters nothing to me, if only to further my own means. And as for his two inept 'henchman' – of which I doubt I could give them credit - " he snorted, " – they do not even possess enough brains to give themselves a headache. They're practically dead from the neck up!" The creature paused, enjoying his tirade. "Wouldn't you know, all this insulting makes me feel quite good. But enough of that, now. I think - "

Blade suddenly choked on his own words, gagged loudly, and spun around to face the person who had, quite literally, stabbed him in the back. "You fool, cybird!" he forced out, feeling his back carefully. Apparently, while Crimson was talking, Digit had slipped around behind him, transformed his beak into a saw and used the tool to its full capacity, to be blunt.

The lavender hand came away, stained with blood. It was not, however, the type of blood from which the first part of his name called. Neither was it the thick, oily substance of a robot. His was a mix between the two: it had the deep black of robots' oil, yet had the thin density of human blood.

Shaking off the pain determinedly – he could not both himself with something that, in his mind, was so minor - Crimson grabbed Digit by the throat, who had been hovering uncertainly in front of him, not able to decide what to do, his beak traced with black blood. With a quick movement of his wrist, Blade snapped the cybird's neck and let the body fall next to Matt's.

The last thing Digit saw, through a dim red haze, were the crimson eyes, gleaming in absolute victory.

Inez gave a sob as she watched another of her friends fall to Crimson Blade's vicious attack, and as she saw the creature turn his flaming gaze in her direction, start towards her, the girl felt her soul shrivel. "I should have known all along," she said, in a broken whisper, "that there was no hope. There was never any hope for us. Scythe was right…"

The Hispanic girl glanced over to where Scythe was standing, by himself, his eyes on Digit's body, taking no notice of either her words or Crimson's. He wore a thoughtful expression, contemplative, even. _Help me_, she wanted to say. _Can't you stop this torment?_

_No,_ she decided. _If he could have helped, he would have before. Yes, he did fight better than us at R-Fair City, but he didn't defeat Crimson._

"Just kill me and be done with it," Inez said out loud, wearily, and stepped forwards to meet Blade. "I can't fight you any longer. I know, now, that it's no use." Halting right in front of the creature, she bowed her head, cheeks tear-stained and pale. "Do it."

"You make a wise choice, human girl," intoned Crimson Blade, and raised his metallic hand – wing – preparing to tear her flesh asunder. "For that, I will make your life end faster than those who are still dying, even now."

Inez gave a sorrowful look at Scythe, then lowered her head again. The metal fingers gleamed in the light of the stars, which by now had appeared in the sky.

The teenager strode forwards suddenly, an expression of loss on his face, not faint like the previous expressions, but one that pierced Crimson Blade like Digit's saw. The creature nodded respectfully, gave Scythe a grim smile.

And then he struck, the hard metal rending into the Hispanic girl's neck, tearing the skin asunder. Deep red blood flowed from Inez's throat, yet she made no acknowledgement she had been hurt, only sank to the ground silently. Blood loss soon sent her falling into a familiar world of darkness… a world that reminded her, somehow, of Scythe's labyrinth…

The young man, after seeing Inez shudder and go still, made no noise, himself. He simply gave Crimson Blade a look that told the creature exactly what he felt. His eyes were so filled with loathing that Blade drew back from the girl's body – he had been preparing to end her life entirely – and come after the teenager instead. This barrier had to be eliminated. And Scythe came to meet him.

Ducking underneath Blade's guard, Scythe brought both hands together and drove his elbow into the creature's stomach, hearing with satisfaction his opponent emit a grunt of pain. Crimson was beginning to tire; even his immense strength could not last for such a long period of time. He could not mask his pain as well as before.

The creature fell back a few steps, recovered fairly quickly and dodged to the left, rushing in and grabbing Scythe's arm, jerking it hard in the opposite direction. Mockingly, he watched as the teenager staggered off-course, then dove in and scratched his enemy across the face with his metal wing.

Blood trickled down Scythe's face, but he did not falter as he changed direction swiftly and delivered three kicks to Blade's chest in rapid succession, knocking Crimson backwards with every hit. Almost immediately, he whirled sideways, crouched low and took hold of the reeling Blade's leg, pulling it forwards and causing the creature to land heavily on his back in the dirt.

Gasping for breath, Blade jumped up and kicked Scythe in the shoulder, then followed by darting forwards and catching the teenager across the neck with his forearm. Just as quickly, he leaped back, and, seeing that Scythe was also gasping for breath, ran for him again, this time hitting Scythe in the ribs with the same move he had used on Matt. The teenager could swear that he heard one of his ribs crack; he certainly felt it.

Clutching his side with a hand that were slowly being stained with blood – his armor had cracked from Blade's sheer strength – the black-haired young man came for Blade again, but the creature hit him again, hard, across the neck with his arm, then shoved Scythe so he stumbled and, at last, fell to the ground.

Crimson, sides heaving as he breathed heavily, limped over, halted beside the teenager, who was struggling to rise, and placed his boot on Scythe's neck. The young man immediately ceased his attempt to get up, and stared at his enemy with eyes that flamed equally as brightly as Crimson's himself.

"Kill me now," he said quietly, in a tone that did not betray the feelings that boiled beneath the surface. Personally, Blade couldn't figure out how he managed to accomplish it. "Either that, or let me up, so I may die fighting."

"No, mortal. I think not. And to add insult to injury, I think I will make one last shape-shift. It will take up some of my remaining strength, but there is no one left around to stop me! Watch, Scythe… and pray for a swift death…"

The form of Crimson Blade shimmered, shifted, changed shape. The presence of the boot never faded, however. When Scythe could see Blade's figure solidly once more, his eyes widened, though he never made a single sound.

It was the shape of Inez that Crimson had chosen to torment him. The last thing he would see was her face, contorted by evil. The last thing he would feel was her boot, crushing the life from him slowly. That only thing that was not of Inez's were the eyes. The eyes were burning, scarlet red. Taking a deep breath, Crimson Blade spoke, not with Inez's voice, but with his own. It sounded very much out of place…

"I bid you farewell, Scythe. Let this be a reminder to you, for the terrible deeds in your past." Crimson/Inez lifted his/her head and screamed, but it was not a scream with one voice. He/she screamed with the voices of many people, screams that echoed in Scythe's head, screams that haunted his dreams, screams that he would remember into eternity.

Then Blade's/Inez's foot pressed down hard, slowly cutting off his windpipe, obstructing his breathing. The teenager could not fight anymore. His part was over.

Neither of them saw a bloodstained heap stir and haltingly sit up. Matt, glancing around groggily, caught sight of the figure of Crimson/Inez choking Scythe, jerked in surprise and forced himself to stand. Somehow, he managed it, though he staggered tipsily, unable to keep tight control over his pained limbs in his weakness.

At first glance, he had thought wildly that the person standing over Scythe really was Inez, but he saw the crimson eyes and knew who it was almost immediately, after a second look. _What can I do?_ he thought frantically to himself, but his mind seemed to run slower than usual; Crimson/Inez still hadn't noticed him.

Suddenly, he became aware of a bulge, an object in his pocket, an object that he drew out with trembling, bloodstained fingers and surveyed with newfound hope.

It was the knife Scythe had given to him, before they left Control Central. The boy pulled it from its sheath of leather and looked upon the sharp blade glittering in the cold light of the stars. For a moment, he had to close his eyes against the painful throbbing in his head, and when he opened them again, his gaze fell upon Crimson/Inez.

However, it was no longer Crimson/Inez. Blade had reverted back to his original form, not being able to hold the other shape any longer.

"It's the only thing we have left," the red-haired boy muttered grimly, then, hefting the knife in his hand, leapt forwards at a run, forcing his legs to move swiftly, despite his wounds.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Matt reached Blade quickly, who then jerked his head up and stared, wide-eyed, at the boy. His face twisted in anger, he began to step off Scythe's neck to face this new threat…

… when Matt, with his last strength, gripped the handle hard and thrust the gleaming blade up to the hilt into Crimson Blade's chest.

The creature gagged again, much louder than the previous time, and clutched at his chest in pain, eyes staring in fury and hatred at the boy who had unwittingly caused his downfall so many times, who was now sending him to his death: his final destination. Deep black blood flowed from his mouth, dripped down his chin; he fell back a few steps, gripping the handle of the dagger with a shaking hand. Blood welled from the fatal wound, dripped to the ground in obsidian droplets.

"Damn you…" Blade choked past the iron taste of blood. "Damn you, Matthew… You've gotten you wanted… what you always wanted…" He dropped to his knees, looked up at Matt, whose gaze was fixed on Crimson with a kind of disgusted fascination; the boy found he could not tear his eyes away from this grotesque sight, this death he had caused.

Taking in a deep, shuddering breath, the evil, twisted Crimson Blade glared at his mortal enemy for the last time with his flaming scarlet eyes, and uttered his final words:

"I leave you to your fate, Matthew, to the knowledge that you caused the end of your own friends…" He drew in another ragged breath, choked softly. "Death will not stop me finding you in your darkest dreams… your darkest nightmares… and in that, I will live forever…"

The breath left his body with a sigh, and Crimson Blade slumped to the ground, dead. His eyes, wide and staring, burned with their ignited flame for just one more moment.

Then the flame flickered, faded.

And died.

For the last time, Crimson Blade's corpse dissipated… dissolved… and was borne away on the wind like smoke.

The same wind fluttered the torn clothing of Matt's fallen companions. The injured boy stood there, staring fixedly where the body of Crimson Blade had lain - where Scythe's knife now lay - frozen in place, horrified beyond reason.

A hand plucked weakly at the hem of his ripped jeans. Still in a terrified trance, Matt, slowly directed his gaze to the source. Scythe, lying unmoving on the ground, the scratches along the side of his face standing out starkly in contrast to his paled skin, whispered hoarsely, "We must leave here… call for assistance…" Then his hand fell back, and he sank once more into unconsciousness.

Fighting the nausea and a deep urge to return to unconsciousness himself, Matt retrieved his Squak Pad and dialed Motherboard. By the time he had gotten it from his backpack, he had fallen to the ground, unable to keep himself upright any longer. Only some kind of reserve of strength, that existed somewhere deep inside, succeeded in preventing the boy from blacking out entirely.

When Motherboard's concerned face flickered on-screen, he sighed in relief and said weakly, forcing the words out through bloodstained lips, "Motherboard… we did it…"

Then he couldn't fight the darkness anymore, and his world went peacefully, thankfully black.


	14. Recovery

**FINAL DESTINATIONS**

**By Final Fantasy GX**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

The final battle is over. Now the Cybersquad must learn to put aside the events of that dark day, and turn to the future…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** Lol… "camping".

Does anyone know the REAL spelling for the Squak Pads? (I might have spelled it wrong...)

**Chapter 14: Recovery**

"I don't get it, Inez," Jackie said thoughtfully. "I don't see how Crimson could exist like he did…"

The Cybersquad and Scythe were sitting in the main control once more, discussing the past events, exchanging theories. A few days had passed since the Final Battle; Inez, Matt and Jackie had informed their parents by phone that they were "camping", to cover the fact that they were still recovering, under Dr Marbles' excellent care.

The Doc had – with much difficulty, he admitted - restored Digit to his former self, with no visible damage remaining. The cybird was his usual cheerful self, though a shadow of fear hovered around his eyes occasionally, when he recalled his horrific memories of Crimson Blade.

Jackie had recovered almost instantly; when Blade had passed away, the scratches on her arms had closed and ceased bleeding. No one could explain why this had happened. Meanwhile, for the first few days, Inez had been in agony, the deep cuts causing her much pain. Now, her neck was still healing, but she could talk again, and the deep cuts burned only a little.

The person who had, perhaps, suffered most of all of them, was still weak. Matt sat, slumped in a chair, eyes closed tiredly. His leg still pained him, and his own wounds were improving, but the rest of his companions thought privately that the main affliction he bore was mental. He had barely spoken to anyone since their rescuing by Dr Marbles, even when they were speculating about Crimson Blade.

Scythe had been up and about earlier than the rest of them. The Doc had repaired his armor, and his face was nearly back to normal, as the scratches had not been as deep as they had first thought. The teenager spent his time wandering Control Central, and hardly saw or spoke to the Cybersquad, not even Inez.

Currently, however, everyone was together at last.

"I have a theory," Inez responded quietly, unable to talk very loudly due to her injury. She had been pondering this ever since she regained consciousness. "Assuming that Crimson Blade possessed both a mortal and incorporeal form, he could shift shapes according to his uses. It was this, however, that caused his downfall. His mortal form could exist only if his spiritual form survived. That, at least, explains how he returned in the first place: his mortal shape was destroyed, but his incorporeal shape remained, dragging his soul back into his body. His control over the two halves was weakened considerably, although his mortal form remained as powerful as ever, perhaps even more."

She paused to catch her breath, prodding her neck gingerly, flinching a little. Heaving a sigh, Inez continued.

"When Matt stabbed Blade, he had just completed forming his own body, after…" The girl paused, glancing at Scythe, and skipped that part. "To shape-shift, his mortal form required the spiritual form to combine with and transform into another shape. When he was stabbed, the spiritual form had not yet parted from the body, and therefore…" She drew a finger across her throat, and winced again.

Jackie nodded, eyes wide in wonder. "That must have taken a long time to figure out," she said, appreciating her friend's intelligence – for once.

"Believe me… it did," Inez responded softly, her thoughtful gaze resting lightly on Scythe, who had leaned back, withdrawing into the shadows. The only feature visible of the teenager was his glasses, glinting despite the darkness surrounding him.

The cybird, who was seated next to Inez, patted the girl on the shoulder, grinned his normal happy grin and said, looking up at Motherboard's colossal monitor, "What about the Hacker, Motherboard?"

Even the supercomputer could not keep the humored tone from her voice. "He survived – Digit, and has returned to – his base, more determined – than ever, after his betrayal. I must say – that the curses he was using – were not entirely appropriate. The Grim Wreaker – crashed not far from where you fought with – Crimson Blade. Damage – was minimal, although the ship suffered minor – hull burns."

As one, the group – excluding Matt - shook their heads in disbelief, and, though none would admit it, faint disappointment. They had hoped that Hacker would have at least gained some sense out of the entire experience. Apparently not.

Without warning, the red-haired boy – who had not uttered a single word, nor made a sound, throughout the conversation – shoved his chair back from the table, threw himself from the seat and limped from the room at a rapid pace. The mere expression on his face kept the rest of the Cybersquad from following. There was an awkward silence.

"Do you think he will ever fully recover?" Inez asked quietly, glancing around at her friends. None of them replied for a moment, then Jackie said hesitantly, "All he needs is time..."

"Time sometimes isn't enough to heal the injuries of the spirit."

Surprised, both the girls and Digit turned to look at Scythe, whose voice, though whispering, echoed in the vast room. Ignoring their questioning glances, the teenager gracefully left his seat and headed in the direction Matt had taken.

Inez sighed, frustrated at this angst-like behaviour. "What are we going to do with the pair of them?"

-

Softly, sedately, Scythe took his time going after Matt.

"He cannot hide his face from his friends forever," he said to himself, continuing on through the hallways of Motherboard's inner workings with measured tread. Upon glancing up to scan his surroundings, he glimpsed a flash of red, a splash of green, disappearing around a corner.

Deciding he would do better to follow at a faster pace, Scythe rounded the corner and placed his hand on Matt's shoulder, forcing the eleven-year-old to halt. The boy staggered on his injured knee, but regained his balance, did not turn to face him.

"Turn around, Matthew," Scythe spoke quietly. "You have no need to ignore me, nor avert your face."

Slowly, the red-haired boy faced the teenager, his face bearing an expression of intense pain.

"But I do," he responded finally, in a strained voice. "I am a coward. I am a failure. And, most of all, I am a murderer."

"Don't you think I know how you feel?" Scythe replied, gray eyes gleaming like an overcast light on winter snow. "What you require, Matthew, is someone to talk to. And I think your friends are adequate. They are all extremely concerned about you. Remember, they shared your experience." He smiled slightly, the same smile Matt had seen when he had first met the teenager. "What you did to Crimson Blade needed to be done. The Cybersquad may have perished, that day, if it weren't for you. He would not have stopped until we were all dead. So I would deign to consider yourself a failure, a coward, and a murderer. You did not fail; you had courage; death of body and spirit was the only thing that could halt that mindless evil." A shadow clouded his eyes, and Matt could no longer tell what Scythe was thinking. Somehow, a slightly transparent mask had been placed over the emotions that hovered, faintly seen, beneath the surface.

"What about you?" the boy asked tentatively. "What with fighting Crimson and all… and… and what he did to you…"

The look that came onto Scythe's face next was almost like an actual physical blow, and Matt flinched, seeing the shield slam into place, rendering the teenager's expression blank. The gray eyes were suddenly devoid of anything: not even the sparkling light that normally filled them danced in their depths. He seemed to tense; the hands clenched at his sides.

"Go and talk to your friends, Matthew," Scythe said coldly, and brushed past the red-haired boy, walking in the opposite direction.

"You can't ignore it for the rest of your life!" Matt yelled after him. "You need the same thing I do," he added in a normal tone, rather thoughtfully. Eyeing the black-armored figure, he saw it stop. Then turn.

"If ignoring this for the rest of my life banishes the pain of failure, then so be it. I know many kinds of pain. This is one of which I cannot take. For it was I who failed, Matthew. Not you. And why did I fail? Because of one weakness. And Crimson Blade found that weakness immediately." The teenager's voice rang hard as steel in Matt's ears. "I have no friends. I need no one to talk to other than my servants."

There was silence for a moment, a silence in which years seemed to pass. Scythe did not move, only stared at the red-haired boy with that icy, blank stare. Finally, however, Matt spoke again, and in his eyes, the teenager thought he saw understanding...

"There is much love in the world," the eleven-year-old said quietly, wisdom beyond his years showing through his words. He knew what inner turmoil Scythe faced. He knew what Scythe was talking about.

Facing away, Scythe responded in that same expressionless voice:

"It is too late for love."

And he vanished into the shadows at the end of the corridor, turning the corner, disappearing from sight.

A sudden, heavy sadness gripped Matt's heart, and, walking back to his friends, the boy wondered what had happened to the teenager, to create that kind of despair.

-

"… and then, he said no more, only walked away from me silently," Matt finished. Jackie gave him a swift hug, while Inez patted his shoulder and Digit gave him a small smile. The boy had just completed telling his friends what had occurred in the corridor, as well as informing them of his thoughts and feelings on the final battle. Each had added his or her own opinions on the different events, and now, all four were at peace.

_If only Scythe was at peace,_ Inez thought sadly. _If only he could talk to us about this._

Aloud she said, "What are we going to do about Scythe?"

Her three friends suddenly looked awkward. "Well… I was hoping that you would talk to him, Nezzie," Matt said hesitantly. "You seem to understand him better than any of us."

"I don't know about that, _Matthew_, and don't call me Nezzie!" she snapped back.

"Sorry, Ne – Inez."

The Hispanic girl glared at him half-seriously, and continued, "He's withdrawn into himself, and I don't know how to pull him out of it. He hasn't spoken to me since the final battle.

"I can't believe that Crimson Blade would do something like that," she said in wonder, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's just utter cruelty…"

"That's all Crimson Blade ever was," Matt said darkly. Jackie nodded and shot Inez a somewhat suspicious glance.

"He liked you, didn't he?" she suddenly demanded, making the girl jump violently. Upon seeing Inez flush slightly, the African-American sat back, rubbing her right arm absently. "That's why he's so upset about this!"

"I think so," Inez replied softly, staring into space, as if remembering something recent, something that yet seemed to have happened years ago. "He can't believe that something like this could cause such a 'weakness', as he puts it."

"It's not a weakness," Digit said indignantly. "I reckon it's a strength!"

Jackie laughed and then engulfed the cybird in a hug. "That was cute, Didge."

"Another thing is, he can't join us, because he is apparently evil," Matt said, grinning a little as he watched Digit squirm out of Jackie's grip, gasping for breath and massaging his ribs.

"Yes. Remember what he said when I first suggested he fight with us?" Inez said, as Digit recovered and stretched his wings by flying up to Motherboard's monitor.

'…"_I cannot," he responded simply; turning away and placing his hands behind his back, gazing at something beyond this world, beyond all pain, beyond death, with longing. Scythe continued to speak. "I am evil; evil cannot help good. So it is known throughout the universe – including your own."…'_

'…"_In my eyes, the shadows never pass," Scythe replied dully. "A new day never arrives; the sun can never shine." He glanced over at Dasariah. "I am also held back by other things."…'_

"He finds himself drawn back to his labyrinth, because he feels he doesn't belong here." Matt sighed and rested his elbows on the table.

"You are correct, Matthew." A voice behind him made the boy jump and turn to face the source.

It was the very person they had been discussing who stood not far from them. A faint bitterness tinged his tone; the expressionless eyes were dimly lit with a fading light.

"Scythe…?" Inez said, searching his face but finding nothing. The teenager let a smile curl his lips slightly, but other than that, he did not acknowledge that the girl had spoken.

"I am leaving," the teenager said simply. "I do not belong here. I will never belong here. I have served my purpose, and now I have need to return to my labyrinth, and the Kothos. I request of you a single thing: that you never breathe a word to anyone of my labyrinth, let alone my very existence. You should not venture down there again, for this time I will not be able to stop my servants from destroying you." Walking over to where Inez sat on the edge of her chair, he took her hand and kissed it softly, straightened, and looked at them all in turn with his piercing gray eyes.

"Stay with us – a little longer," Motherboard spoke suddenly, the first thing she had said for the entire time. "The children will be leaving – soon, themselves."

"No, Motherboard. I will not stay. Too much has happened; my eyes have been opened too much. I cannot forever join good without purging myself of evil," Scythe replied.

"Everyone has evil in them, Scythe. Even us!" Inez said, her tone slightly exasperated as she stared up at his impassive face.

"You speak truth. But I have done things, terrible things I cannot forgive myself for. Farewell," the teenager responded solemnly.

"Please, don't leave," the Hispanic girl said, and, rising from her chair, hugged him – rather hard, he thought.

Stepping backwards, he let Inez's arms slide from around him. "I can. And I will," he said softly, evenly.

Though he was sure she wouldn't hear him, Scythe whispered in his mind:

Please understand, Inez. Let me go. You know why I leave. Don't make this harder than it is already.

And as she glanced at him sharply, he could swear that she had heard him…

"If you – must go – at least take this with – you," Motherboard said to the teenager, a hint of sadness in her metallic-like voice. Digit came forwards and handed Scythe an object that he stared at in consternation, coming out of his reverie.

"I will, though I do not see what use it will be to me," he replied finally. Slowly, the teenager extended a folded piece of paper to the cybird. "You will understand."

Taking it, Digit looked curiously at the paper, and clutched it tightly with his wing, raising his gaze to look Scythe in the eyes. He grinned his usual Digit grin.

With a slight inclination of his head, a sign of respect, Scythe walked away from the Cybersquad, leaving Control Central for what might perhaps be the last time. It would depend on what happened in the future…

He looked back only once, his light grey eyes traveling over the group, over Jackie, over Digit, stopping once on Matt - who nodded knowingly - and resting, finally, on Inez.

With that last glance, he turned and walked outside, where a coupe was waiting to take him back to the Northern Frontier. As he climbed in and prepared to leave, the teenager looked down at the object clutched tightly in his hand.

It was a Squak Pad.

He smiled that melancholy smile that few had seen, and said quietly:

"Perhaps I do not walk alone."


	15. Final Destinations

FINAL DESTINATIONS By Final Fantasy GX 

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Cyberchase. It belongs to PBS Kids, among others.

**Summary:** Will the returned Crimson Blade, altered but still as evil as ever, achieve his ultimate goal? Who will become tangled in his dark designs? And, most of all, who will survive his vicious onslaught? New allies, new threats, and old enemies combine to make the Cybersquad's desperate fight against Crimson harder than ever…

-

The final battle is over. Now the Cybersquad must learn to put aside the events of that dark day, and turn to the future…

**Rating:** PG-13 (minimal gore, death, violence)

**Author's Note/s:** This is the last chapter…

The thing that Scythe wrote… I wrote that myself, and I'm quite proud of it. © ME! p

Chapter 15: Final Destinations… 

A black-glassed girl lay on her bed, the light of the stars glittering upon the tears on her face.

An African-American eleven-year old rested her head on her desk, eyes thoughtful and questioning.

A cyber-bird surveyed a quiet control room, remembering, reminiscing.

A red-haired boy sat in his own room, watching the moon rise steadily in the velvety darkness.

Each of them was thinking of the same thing: the piece of paper Scythe had given Digit.

-

…They heard the coupe start up, then shoot off into the encrypted world of Cyberspace…

Opening the folded, somewhat crumpled piece of paper, Digit began to read the words written upon it in black, clean strokes, his voice resounding in the full, yet seemingly empty, room.

"_To the Cybersquad._

_Though you will question my reasons,_

_Form your theories, and_

_Rest your case when all seems explained,_

_It is the unexplained that tells the story._

_The reasons I possess, I will explain to you,_

_So you may understand, and be at peace._

_The side of good_

_Requests faith and untainted souls,_

_And, in that, I cannot pursue that road._

_I am the twilight, the shadows_

_That lurk beneath the surface._

_And you ask_

_Why can't you let go,_

_Of this darkness, this_

_Strange feeling, reserved,_

_And abstract in its beauty?_

_While hiding in a corner,_

_Light and laughter cower._"

Jackie then took the paper from the cybird, and continued to speak the words Scythe had written for them.

"_Fear is rampant, unreasonable,_

_And brings me to my knees,_

_Its blade piercing my heart,_

_A shaft burrowing to the core._

_Love is consumed,_

_Plunged into the deep well_

_Of hate's utter depths,_

_Lost forever in black fury,_

_The stain, the cancer._

_While my soul fights to be free,_

_It also strays into darkness' arms,_

_Enfolded into a world that everyone knows;_

_Most of those hide it, conceal it,_

_Cloak the growing mould with _

_Forced smiles, and nervous laughter,_

_Echoing in the emptiness _

_Of our cancerous souls_."

When Jackie's voice faded, Matt plucked the paper from her fingers and read on.

"_And though I venture once more,_

_Into light, where my eyes are closed,_

The darkness draws me back 

_Like a fly to the spider's web._

_For while I wander in dark lands,_

_I see as I have never seen before._

_The world showed me its true nature,_

_And therefore, I fled, turning my back on that,_

_Within, keeps the true darkness._

_Loneliness, my faithful companion,_

_Along with two who bind me to my fate,_

_Follow me in the darkness that is mine._

_Labyrinths of the mind,_

_Confused in their intricate workings,_

_Represented in the passages of my life._

_The things I have done, acts_

_I cannot redeem myself for,_

_Are the second of things that keep me here_."

Finally, as the boy handed her the paper, Inez continued the poem, voice strong.

"_Torturous, never-ending, the night invades,_

_Half-dreamt shapes, imagined spectres,_

_I glimpse at every movement, every breath, _

_And then,_

_I hear their screams in my nightmares,_

_Reliving the horror over and over again;_

_Release will never truly retreat, and the dawn_

_Brings me faint relief, when I will awake,_

_And return to reality once more._

_I maintain a lack of expression, for_

_Through expression my downfall came:_

_Therefore, I remain distant and cold._

_Darkness' intoxication, _

_Alluring, calling, haunts me,_

_It is this that I return to,_

_It is this that I cannot deny._

_I walk in twilight, and these are the paths_

_Where you cannot follow_."

Inez let the paper fall onto the table, and together the Cybersquad read the last line:

"_I regret the absence of my company, but this is why I cannot stay. I only hope you can understand."_

Glancing at each other, the four friends spoke the name quietly.

"_Scythe_."

-

Inez sighed softly and turned her face from the stars. They held no beauty for her anymore. Light held no beauty for her anymore. One day she supposed she would stop crying, stop going over the past events in her mind, but for now, nothing would block the memories that flooded her mind with no regard to her feelings.

Again and again, she remembered the claw-like hand digging into her neck, tearing the flesh asunder. Without ceasing, the feeling of her mind fading away filled her head. And, most hauntingly of all, she could still feel the touch of a particular person's lips on hers. She could still remember the light grey eyes searching her soul. She could still hear the sound of his voice in her head…

After a while, her tears ceased, and she found that the dull ache in her chest had eased. Wiping her eyes, the girl sat up and put on her glasses, stared up at the stars again. They glimmered, faint spots of molten silver: stark contrast against the darkness of the night.

_We are those stars_, she thought, as they sparkled and shone above her. _We are that light in Hacker's darkness_. _We will last a long time, so long that we will eventually defeat him. We could never turn to true darkness; it is not in our nature…_

"He was right," Inez whispered aloud, finally. "We cannot follow where he walks."

And, walking barefoot over to her window, she stood bathed in starlight, and her soul was at last at peace.

-

Jackie laid her head down on her desk, feeling the smooth, cool wood underneath her fingers. The past few days had been upsetting and tiring for her, yet she knew she would never forget what had happened. Those memories would not fade, unlike the cuts on her arms, which were disappearing from her skin rapidly.

_I never want to feel that weak ever again_, the African-American girl said to herself firmly. _That has got to be one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced. Seeing your friends get hurt and not be able to do anything about it…_

Shuddering, Jackie pushed the memory from her mind – knowing it would return later – and thought instead of Scythe's 'letter'. It seemed to explain what the teenager was like fairly sufficiently. Maybe the Cybersquad would see him again, sometime…

_I wonder what he's doing now,_ she pondered. _Probably talking to those things of his. Or maybe he keeps pet bats…_

_Shut up, Jackie,_ she said mentally, and smiled. _Pet bats, indeed…_

-

Digit looked around the room sadly, remembering.

_It seems so empty without the earthlies_, he thought, sighing. _Ah, well. At least when Hacker attacks again, they'll be back here._

In his wing, he clasped a crumpled piece of paper, which he unfolded and read for the thousandth time. Lines jumped out at him, lines written in black ink, lines that were etched in handwriting that reminded him of their creator.

…_The side of good_

_Requests faith and untainted souls…_

…_The darkness draws me back_

_Like a fly to the spider's web…_

…_I walk in twilight, and these are the paths_

_Where you cannot follow…_

As the cybird closed his eyes tiredly, images, sounds, feelings, all flickered through his brain like an endless slideshow. The crack of his neck as it was broken by a powerful hand. A cynical, hissing voice, echoing in the air. The last thing he saw, before his system shut down, a pair of flaming eyes…

Jerking out of his torpor, Digit looked up at his gentle leader, forgetting the horrors for the moment. He needed to sleep for a while… perhaps for an eternity…

"Good night, Motherboard," he said to the supercomputer, placing a wing on the hard drive and patting it. "I'm goin' to bed."

"Good night – Digit," Motherboard responded, smiling down at him; her face blinked off the screen, and she returned to sleep mode. Dr Marbles was making his rounds about Control Central, checking for intruders and the like.

Folding the paper back up, Digit placed it in his chest compartment and fluttered out of the room softly.

-

Matt sat on his bed, staring out into the night, thinking, trying not to let the tears he had been holding back fall. He knew it would bring him relief, but did he deserve it? Even after his conversations with Scythe and his friends, the boy still had some regrets about the final battle.

_If only I had been stronger,_ he berated himself. _If only I could have resolved things other than murdering Crimson Blade. I wanted to hurt him, but not actually kill him. That blood of his will never wash out of my clothes, nor my hands. _

He glanced down at them suddenly, as if fearful they would become stained with black, dripping blood. They were clean as ever, but in his mind he could still hear the slow _drip… drip… drip_ of the liquid flowing to the ground from Crimson's mouth.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Matt felt a burning sensation beneath both eyelids, could barely swallow past the lump in his throat. The pain became unbearable, until finally, he broke down and wept.

He cried for innocence lost, for happiness, for hope. Remembered fear of not being able to breathe, of concern for his friends, of the loss of life strangled him like two mismatched hands. He sobbed until finally the tears subsided, and he could breathe freely again, except for an occasional catch in his voice.

"I wish all of this had never happened," the boy whispered brokenly. He had had to hide the scars all over his body from his parents, for fear they would ask him what happened; Matt was afraid that he wouldn't be able to lie to them. Not about something like that. In time, he hoped, the scars would fade, and there would be nothing left to show it apart from his mental scars – which would always remain, he knew.

Something else told him, though the other part of his mind fought wildly against this reasoning, that murdering Crimson Blade had been necessary. In fact, that voice sounded very much like Scythe's… and as the night wore on, he believed it more and more.

Hours later, when the moon had risen to its zenith and had begun its descent down the lightening sky, Matt lay on his bed, and dreamed.

A figure, a twisted figure, clothed in tattered black robes, whispered things into his brain with a high-pitched, sarcastic voice. Iron-like hands gripped his neck with immense strength, crushing the very life out of him. Metallic fingers scraped across his skin, drawing blood, staining them red. Whirling limbs beat the breath from his body. A scream, ear-piercing and never-ending, spoke of pain and death, of fear and darkness. Black blood flowed over his hands, marking them irreversibly… A pair of crimson eyes burned into his soul with an infinite flame.

And it burned, and would keep on burning, forever, eternally…

Suddenly, without warning, a shining light banished the darkness, a light so bright that it caused the mismatched creature to fall back, covering its face, then vanish into the shadows, shrieking one last, one final, defiance:

"_Death will not stop me finding you in your darkest dreams… your darkest nightmares… and in that, I will live **forever!**"_

Sitting bolt upright, jerked awake, Matt stared wildly out the window, at the silver moon, which was beaming its full light upon his face, having dropped into sight. The calm, pure light eased his soul, drove away the memories, smoothed the lines of fear and angst etched on his face. After a few minutes gazing restfully into the silver-cast night, the red-haired boy lay back once more, nightmares of flaming crimson eyes and shrieking voices forgotten.

As the moon descended below the window and continued on its way, Matt's eyes fluttered closed.

And he drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

-

**The End**

-

**Re-edit Notes: **Heh. I'm so pathetic. I almost started crying when I read this. The parts that really got me were at the end of Chapter 14, "Perhaps I do not walk alone." (Oops. There I go again. My eyes are starting to water…) and just before that, with the scene between Matt and Scythe. "There is much love in the world."  
"It is too late for love." (Aargh. –reaches for a tissue-) So… I guess that's all I'll be writing for this… it's definitely over now… awww…. –snuffles- Cya next time. We end with… 36, 064 words!

**Author's End Notes:** -is crying- Well, that's it. The final story of the Crimson Blade saga is at an end. He may be mentioned in some of my upcoming fics, but only in passing.

I also have some thanks to give. BIG THANKS TO FLIP8, who helped me so much with this fanfiction, offering music, themes, suggestions, plots, and many more! –super-mega-power-glomps flip8- **THANKYOU! XD **Really, I should put you as co-writer. Seriously.

**More** thanks go to the authors who wrote the preceding fics: DarkHououmon and Mister Pie. Thanks, you guys!

I've been working on this fic for over half a year now, and I'm going to miss sitting down to write the next chapter… but, as the summary says, I have to look to the future, where other fanfics await me.

Snifflingly yours,

**Final Fantasy GX.**


End file.
